In case there was any doubt, the Kirk Cousins of old is back.
Cousins lit up the Buccaneers’ defense and the stat sheet on “Thursday Night Football,” throwing for 509 yards in a 36-30 overtime win. Cousins led game-tying and game-winning drives, posting the NFL’s first 500-yard passing game since 2021.
KHADAREL HODGE CALLED GAME#TNFonPrime | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/vtKobQt7gc
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 4, 2024
Little by little, the narrative surrounding Cousins’ performance in prime-time games is dwindling. The veteran quarterback appeared calm and confident against the Eagles and Chiefs under the lights earlier this season, even while splitting those two games, and he was dealing against Tampa in the latest sign his recovery from an Achilles tear is complete.
What’s Cousins’ prime-time record now? Here’s the latest look at his track record after the win Thursday night.
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Kirk Cousins prime-time record
Cousins is now 14-21 in prime-time games after taking down the Buccaneers on Thursday.
That’s still an underwhelming record, but Cousins has been much better in prime-time games in recent years. He’s now 6-4 in his past 10 prime-time starts, with two of those losses coming against the Eagles.
Cousins is 3-1 in his past four prime-time games, as he helped the Vikings take down the 49ers last season before tearing his Achilles the following week. The NFL put Cousins and his new team in prime-time three times in the first five weeks of this season, and all three games have come down to the wire. Cousins led game-winning drives against the Eagles and Buccaneers, only coming up short against the Chiefs.
The Falcons aren’t slated to play in prime time again until Week 15. That might have been good news for Cousins at one point in his career, but he seems to be more comfortable than ever before under the lights.
Kirk Cousins game-winning drives
Anyone paying any attention to Falcons games this season has likely noticed a theme. Cousins and the Atlanta offense seemingly find themselves in position for a game-winning drive every week, and the results have been all over the map.
Cousins led a game-winning drive in Week 2 against the Eagles, but he couldn’t repeat that success against the Chiefs a week later. Then, against the Saints in Week 4, the Falcons went down the field in the final minute and won on a Younghoe Koo field goal — but it didn’t take much effort from Cousins thanks to a costly New Orleans penalty.
On Thursday, the Falcons eked out another heart-stopping win. This one came with plenty of Cousins heroics, and it put the veteran quarterback’s prime-time record in 2024 up to 2-1.
It was the 31st game-winning drive of Cousins’ career, moving him into a tie with Drew Bledsoe for 20th all-time. Only four active quarterbacks have more than Cousins, and all of them have made more starts than him.
For a quarterback who once had a reputation for being less than trustworthy in clutch moments, that’s quite the mark.
