For the 2024 NFL season, digital team reporter Terrin Waack will provide select stellar stats, obscure facts and notable quotes from the most recent game to show how the Atlanta Falcons are taking flight into the new week.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons won, 36-30, in overtime against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday in a Week 5 prime-time game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in front of 70,016 ticketed fans.
STELLAR STATS
— Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 42 of his 58 passes for 509 yards and four touchdowns. All those stats either set or matched a career high. The 509 passing yards are the most by any NFL player in a single game this season, and the four passing touchdowns ties for most in 2024. With those numbers, Cousins also becomes the 13th player in NFL history with 500-plus passing yards and four-plus passing touchdowns in a single game.
— Cousins' clinic continues: According to OptaSTATS, Cousins is the only NFL quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw for at least 250 yards both before and after halftime. He had 253 yards passing in the first half and 256 yards passing in the second half and overtime combined.
— The Falcons had three players with at least five receptions and 70 yards in the same game for the first time since the 2020 season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Tight end Kyle Pitts (seven receptions for 88 yards), wide receivers Darnell Mooney (nine receptions for 105 yards) and Drake London (12 receptions for 154 yards) got the job done with Cousins on Thursday, while wide receivers Calvin Ridley (nine receptions for 130 yards), Russell Gage (nine receptions for 114 yards) and Julio Jones (nine receptions for 157 yards) did the work with quarterback Matt Ryan in the 2020 opener.
— Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has now scored 100 career touchdowns, becoming the 26th player in NFL history to reach that mark. He has 99 receiving touchdowns over 11 seasons, including 13 against the Falcons, and one rushing score. With the two in Atlanta on Thursday, Evans also has now scored at least two receiving touchdowns in 22 career games, which ranks seventh-most all-time.
— The Falcons' 550 total yards of offense set a new NFL high for the 2024 season. The next-best total is 516 by the Seahawks in their Week 4 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Falcons and Seahawks are the only two teams to crack 500 yards.
— According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons' win probability against the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Buccaneers bottomed out at 1%, 26% and 5%, respectively. That's a 0.013% — or one in 7,692 — chance to win all three games, which Atlanta did.
OBSCURE FACTS
— In their last two games, the Falcons have tied up their regular-season records with the Buccaneers (31-31) and the Saints (55-55).
— The Falcons became the first defense in the NFL not to record a first-half pressure in a game this season, according to Next Gen Stats. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield wasn't pressured a single time on 15 dropbacks in the first half, even though he faced a blitz on 60% of those dropbacks.
— Cousins had this career performance on the same night Ryan was inducted into the Falcons Ring of Honor. Cousins topped Ryan's Atlanta franchise record of 503 passing yards in a game (2016 Week 4 win over Panthers) by 6 yards.
— According to OptaSTATS, Cousins is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 500 yards in a victory without throwing a single pass while his team was ahead on the scoreboard.
— Mayfield still had a great night, despite the loss. He completed 19 of his 24 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Cousins simply – or rather, impressively – out-threw Mayfield by 329 yards. What's crazy: Only seven other quarterbacks this season have thrown for at least 329 yards in a game.
— Here are two intricate ways to tie Cousins with Tom Brady: First, Brady is the only other quarterback to throw for at least 500 yards and four touchdowns in a prime-time game. He did so in the New England Patriots' 2011 season-opening win against the Miami Dolphins, throwing for 517 yards and four touchdowns. Secondly, Brady is the only other quarterback to throw at least 58 pass attempts, gain 460 yards passing and post a 68% completion rate all in a win. He did so in the Patriots' Super Bowl win in 2017.
QUOTING RAHEEM MORRIS
On what he said to quarterback Kirk Cousins after the final drive in regulation…
"None of your business."
On if this is a team of destiny…
"I don't want to have to call yourself a team of destiny. There is only one team of destiny every single year, and we'll figure that out when we get there."
QUOTING THE FALCONS
Quarterback Kirk Cousins
On "Swag Surfin'" playing again in big win…
"I was taught this week by Taylor Rooks with Amazon. ... The key is when the beat drops. Initially, it gets going, gets everybody in the stadium aware of it, but when the beat drops, that's when it really gets going. It's good energy. There's a lot of good songs they played throughout the game. Good environment. But that one does it for me."
Inside linebacker JD Bertrand
On playing in a game like that where there were so many score changes…
"I literally came in here and was like, 'Is that just every NFL game?' I guess it is. It's pretty crazy, but it adds a little bit of stress levels, but it couldn't have been more fun."
QUOTING THE OPPONENT
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield
On what the Falcons defense was doing in second half to make scoring more of a challenge…
"They definitely weren't playing as aggressive. They weren't pressuring as much. Kind of dropping back and making us work our way down the field."
EXTRA: On his and Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins' joint donation to Hurricane Helene relief efforts…
"Obviously, there's much more to life than football. Hurricane Helene impacted so many people in so many different states, and it's sad to see. … Knowing Kirk – the type of guy (he is) and the family that he has, who he is as a person – (and) finding somebody to team up and try and join forces with, it's a blessing to be able to do that."
GAME LEADERS
Top 3 rushers
- Buccaneers: Rachaad White | 10 carries for 72 yards
- Falcons: Bijan Robinson | 12 carries for 61 yards
- Buccaneers: Bucky Irving | nine carries for 44 yards
Top 3 receivers
- Falcons: Drake London | 12 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown
- Falcons: Darnell Mooney | nine receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns
- Falcons: Kyle Pitts | seven receptions for 88 yards
Top 3 passers
- Falcons: Kirk Cousins | 42-58 for 509 yards and four touchdowns (intercepted once, sacked four times)
- Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield | 19-24 for 180 yards and three touchdowns (sacked once)
- Falcons: Darnell Mooney | 0-1 for no yards
Top 3 defenders (by tackles)
- Buccaneers: Tykee Smith | 11 total tackles, nine solo (a pass breakup, a forced fumble)
- Buccaneers: Zyon McCollum | 10 total tackles, seven solo (two pass breakups)
- Buccaneers: Jamel Dean | nine total tackles, nine solo (a pass breakup)
NEXT UP
The Falcons (3-2) have a little break before hitting the road to play the Carolina Panthers (1-3) on Oct. 13 at 4:25 p.m. ET. FOX will carry live coverage from Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers play the Chicago Bears on the road this Sunday at 1 p.m. for their Week 5 game.
Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Week 5, presented by Grady.