FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Kirk Cousins has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced Wednesday. It's the second time this season Cousins has been recognized for that honor. The second time this month, in fact.
Cousins led all quarterbacks with 1,242 passing yards in the month of October, edging out Lamar Jackson by a single yard. His 10 touchdown passes were third-most last month, and Cousins posted a passer rating of 109, which ranked fifth.
Both selections followed a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One could say the Bucs had a front-row seat for the "Kirktober" experience.
Cousins threw for 276 passing yards with a 79.3% completion rate and threw four touchdowns in the 31-26 win on Sunday. Cousins finished the game with a 145.9 passer rating, the highest in the NFL in Week 8.
"That was probably his cleanest game as a quarterback as an Atlanta Falcon. I know it's hard to say when you threw for 500 yards one week," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Monday. " ... I was really pleased with the quarterback play yesterday. And you can see the confidence in our offense when he's playing that way and the style of play we want to play. And it's been a division, we were lucky enough to go out there and sign him."
Cousins earned player of the week honors earlier this season after throwing for 509 passing yards and four touchdowns in Week 5 against the Bucs. His eight touchdown passes against the Bucs during October were the most by any quarterback in NFL history against the same opponent in a single month.
This marks the fourth time a Falcon has been designated NFC Player of the Week. Jessie Bates III and Troy Andersen were named on the defensive side in Week 2 and Week 4, respectively.
Cousins has received this honor a total nine times, now twice as an Atlanta Falcon.
