Michael Dominski·Live Reporter
Falcons edge Bucs in overtime
Kirk Cousins threw for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 in overtime on Thursday Night Football.
Younghoe Koo hit a game-tying 52-yard field goal as time expired after Cousins orchestrated a 46-yard drive in just over a minute without any timeouts. After Atlanta won the coin toss, Cousins hit KhaDarel Hodge for a 45-yard walk-off touchdown on the fourth play from scrimmage in OT.
Your reaction to Bucs-Falcons
Plenty of love for tonight's quarterbacks:
- Falcons fan R B: We finally have a QB...
- Philbert M.: Kirktober has officially arrived!
- Anonymous: Baker Mayfield was not what was wrong in Cleveland.
And plenty of scorn for the NFL's regular-season overtime rules:
- Paul E.: I have no dog in this fight, but do they need to change the regular season overtime rules to match the playoffs? One win or loss during the season could get you in or out of the playoffs. That’s just as important as a playoff win or loss.
- Fred S.: Dumbest rule in sports. Both teams need to get the ball in OT no matter what. It’s like a team gets to bat in the top of the 10th, scores a run and the the other team doesn’t get to hit. Totally stupid rule. Who thought this was/is a good idea
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Hodge makes the most of his opportunity
KhaDarel Hodge continues to make big plays for the Falcons. After recovering a muffed punt in the end zone for a touchdown against the Saints last week, Hodge caught both of his passes tonight for 67 yards including the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
What a time for the second receiving touchdown of his career!
Who is KhaDarel Hodge?
KhaDarel Hodge is the hero for the Atlanta Falcons tonight with his game-winning 45-yard touchdown catch-and-run in overtime. It was only Hodge's second career receiving touchdown.
Hodge went undrafted in 2018 before bouncing around the league with the Rams, Browns, Lions and now the Falcons. The D'Lo, Mississippi (2022 population of 366) native is an HBCU product, originally starting his college career at Alcorn State, before spending time at Hinds Community College and Prairie View A&M.
He was originally a quarterback coming out of Mendenhall High School in Mississippi and at Alcorn State. He transitioned to wide receiver at Hinds CC.
Hodge is in his third season with the Falcons, signing with Atlanta in 2022 before subsequent one-year deals in 2023 and 2024.
Instant reaction to an instant classic
The Athletic's Josh Kendall brings us his takeaways from tonight's thrilling game, looking at:
- Another nail biter for the Falcons
- Cousins' career night
- Offensive coordinators on display
- Mayfield shines in loss
- White steps up
Follow the link below to check out his breakdown!
Mooney to the moon
While Drake London, Kirk Cousins and Kyle Pitts stole the headlines, Darnell Mooney had a massive night of his own. The 26-year-old had nine catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, adding onto a torrid start to his 2024 campaign. His night could have been even bigger if it weren’t for a few untimely drops.
Mooney now has 24 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns already this season.
Pitts party
After totaling just eight catches in the Falcons’ first four games, tight end Kyle Pitts showed up in a big way tonight, reeling in seven of his eight targets for 88 yards against Tampa Bay.
This was the fourth-highest yardage output of his career. A huge development for Atlanta’s offense and fantasy owners everywhere.
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Cousins overshadowed Mayfield's great night
Baker Mayfield was lights out tonight, completing 79.2 percent of his passes for 3 touchdowns and a 137.5 passer rating.
Kirk Cousins still out-threw him by 329 yards (509 to 180).
To put that into perspective, every quarterback in the NFL has combined for seven games of at least 329 yards.
London makes his own history
With his 12 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown, Drake London set a career high with 33.4 fantasy PPR points tonight.
His yardage total is also the second highest of his career, behind a 172-yard performance last season against… the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The London breakout might be upon us.
Cousins joins Brady in record book
With his electric performance tonight, Kirk Cousins now joins Tom Brady as the only player to throw for 500+ yards and 4+ touchdowns in a prime-time game.
Not a bad way to enter a tie for first place in the NFC South right?
Tale of two halves for Falcons defense
After allowing the Bucs to score 24 points in the first half, the Falcons held them to just six in the second half.
A big part of that came from generating four pressures and a sack on seven dropbacks in the second half after failing to generate a single pressure on 15 dropbacks in the first half, per Next Gen Stats.
Falcons are comeback kings
According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons' win probability was as low as 4.7% following Lavonte David's interception in Falcons territory late in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons have now won two games this season after having a win probability of less than 5%, having done so against the Eagles as well. They had zero such wins between 2016 and 2023.
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Cousins tops Ryan
On the night Matt Ryan was inducted into Atlanta's Ring of Honor, Kirk Cousins surpassed his Falcons record in single-game passing yards.
Cousins had a career-high 509 tonight. Ryan had 503 in Atlanta's 2016 season.
Hodge shares moment with Blank
Jay Gruden reacts to Cousins' career night
Jay Gruden, who was Washington's head coach when Kirk Cousins left the team to sign with the Vikings, clearly still has feelings about that...
Cousins in rarefied air
Throwing for 509 yards and four touchdowns tonight, Kirk Cousins becomes the 13th player in NFL history with 500+ pass yards and 4+ pass TD in a single game.
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What a game, what a win!
The Falcons (3-2) have pulled into a tie for first place in the NFC South after one of the best Thursday night games in a while.
That last pass gave Kirk Cousins a career-high 509 yards passing on the night, setting a new Falcons record in the process.
Falcons win on walk-off touchdown!
London gets hurt and comes out of the game, and on the next play, Cousins finds Hodge over the middle and he breaks loose for a 45-yard game-winning touchdown!
Huge night for Cousins
Kirk Cousins now has 440 passing yards, his highest total since throwing for 460 yards in December of 2022 with the Vikings.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris was screaming in the quarterback’s ear and jabbing him with his finger after he came off the field following the 46-yard drive that set up Younghoe Koo’s game-tying 52-yard field goal as time expired.