Kirk Cousins has played a lot of games in the NFL, but the Falcons quarterback never threw for as many yards as he did on Thursday night.
After the 36-30 overtime win over the Buccaneers, Cousins noted that he got some extra time to get to 509 yards on the night but the game would have been a significant night for the quarterback even if he didn’t set a new personal best. The first four weeks of the season featured plenty of discussion about Cousins’s health and comfort level in the Falcons offense, but there was no reason to harp on either point on Thursday.
Cousins had at least six completions to four different players and completed 28 passes to the trio of Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Kyle Pitts. After the game, Cousins credited the outburst to having the confidence to trust that his receivers were going to be where he thought they’d be before letting the ball fly.
“I threw a couple passes where I was anticipating where Kyle was going to be, where Drake was going to be,” Cousins said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. “And I was ahead of it a little bit in a good way. Threw it decisively. I just hadn’t been that decisive the first few weeks. I’ve been trying to kind of ensure that’s where they’re going and ensure that’s what I’m seeing before I let it rip.”
It’s natural for it to take some time for a new quarterback to settle into an offense and Cousins finally looked right at home on Thursday night. That’s a positive development for the Falcons and it’s one that will make life more difficult for others around the NFC.
