So far, Kirk Cousins is worth every penny, nickel, dime and quarter inside of his four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons for $180 million.

Hear that sound?

That’s Falcons officials slapping hi-fives between themselves and their accountants after they ignored Cousins’ birth certificate (36 to begin the season) and Achilles surgery (which came after he missed most of last season with the Minnesota Vikings) to give the quarterback all of that loot in March.

Consider this:

• After six consecutive losing seasons, the Falcons are 3-2 overall and leading the NFC South at 2-0. Yeah, they’ve been “resilient,” as Falcons head coach Raheem Morris likes to say, and Younghoe Koe has remained among the NFL’s all-time clutch kickers. That said, the primary reason for this early spurt of goodness for the Falcons is Cousins has been Captain Kirk indeed more often than not during the fourth quarter.
• You get the feeling Cousins still is shredding the secondary of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He did so early, often and throughout an improbable (FYI: that’s a common word these days for the Falcons) 36-30 victory in overtime Thursday night in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• In the end, Cousins completed 42 of 58 passes for 509 yards and four touchdowns. As the football gods would have it, he broke the franchise record for passing yards in a game held by the same Matt Ryan who was inducted Thursday night into the Falcons Ring of Honor at halftime.
• Achilles issue? What Achilles issue?

As for the latter, after the Falcons used the NFL’s head-to-head tiebreaker to slip just ahead of the 3-2 Bucs in the division, I told Cousins that he looked totally healthy and more like 26 than 36.

Does that visual match reality?

“That’s a good question,” said Cousins, in his 13th NFL season after he played the previous six with the Vikings before his opening six with Washington.

“I think I feel somewhere in between there. I feel good. I think being a pocket passer, and I’ve talked to some retired quarterbacks and asked them, do I need to be a scrambler to maintain production in this league, because there are so many talented running quarterbacks? The feedback I got was, no. You’re always going to have to do it from the pocket. Be accurate. That’s the key.

“So that’s kind of the way I’ve always played. I think it sets me up well as I get older to be able to still do it even if my body isn’t at its best, because standing back there from the pocket, you know, you don’t have to be quite the same athlete. No, I feel good.”

I had one more question for Cousins: Do you believe you are completely healed from that Achilles surgery?

“I do, yeah. Yeah, I do,” Cousins said. “And then there’s always the bumps and bruises that come from playing. My thumb hurts right now. My left knee. You’re always going to have stuff. Just play through it.”

No problem there.

Ask the Bucs, who haven’t stopped rubbing their eyes — along with those watching Thursday night’s nationally televised broadcast — as Cousins did it again.

Three games after Cousins took the Falcons from defeat to victory against the Eagles in Philadelphia during the final minutes, and four days after he did the same at home against the New Orleans Saints, there was his latest miracle.

Somehow, after the Bucs resembled the Eagles and the Saints by having a game down the stretch virtually signed, sealed and delivered against the Falcons, Cousins turned that into a mirage. He took the Falcons 80 yards with the greatest of ease for Younghoe Koo’s 52-yard field goal with no time left in regulation play.

That pushed the game into overtime at 30-30.

Then, moments after woozy No. 1 wide receiver Drake London left the field for the Falcons during the opening drive of extra minutes, Cousins rifled another of his many perfect throws for the night through Tampa Bay defenders. This time, his pass was to fifth-string wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge who sprinted for a game-winning catch and run of 45 yards.

It was Hodge highlighting this Falcons’ thriller, and it was Koo, and it was “resiliency,” but it was mostly Cousins.

All you need to know is:

• Cousins just set an NFL record by throwing for over 450 yards for a third different team (Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta).
• Cousins managed his 30th career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime to rank fifth among active quarterbacks.
• Cousins doesn’t have a worry in the world these days about his Achilles or his age, thank you.

Kirk Cousins threw a career-high 509 yards for four touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons secured a 36-30 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Falcons, trailing 30-27 with one second left on the clock in the final quarter, forced overtime when Younghoe Koo hit a 52-yard field goal.

The Bucs paid the price for losing the coin toss in overtime and failed to have possession again.

Cousins twice found Drake London as the Falcons progressed to the endzone and he put a 45-yard pass through the middle for KhaDarel Hodge to secure the win.

“I spread it around and the players made plays,” said Cousins, who joined the Falcons in a four-year deal earlier this year.

“I’m grateful for the progress we’ve made. We’re getting better and better each week.”

The win was the Falcons’ third of the season, after winning two and losing two of their first four matches.

“I’m proud of the grit,” Cousins said.

“In this league, that’s what it takes. We were gritty tonight.”

The Atlanta Falcons, led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by quarterback Kirk Cousins in Week 4 of the NFL season on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 (10/3/24) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of Amazon Prime

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NFL, Week 4

Who: Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When: Oct. 3, 2024

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

TV: N/A

LIVE STREAM: Amazon Prime

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons had big plans for their offense when they decided to invest heavily in quarterback Kirk Cousins and add new coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

The widespread belief was they only needed an established quarterback and a fresh game plan to utilize the playmakers added in the first rounds of recent drafts — tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson.

Entering Thursday night’s visit from NFC South leader Tampa Bay (3-1), the Atlanta offense has yet to find its momentum. The Falcons (2-2) have shown flashes of promise as Cousins has led two game-winning drives, but the veteran hasn’t matched the production of Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield that has led the Buccaneers to the top of the division.

The most recent evidence of mixed results came Sunday in the Falcons’ 26-24 win over New Orleans. Atlanta won despite not scoring an offensive touchdown, while Pitts was held without a catch and Bijan Robinson ran for only 28 yards.

Morris said he’ll take the win and let others fret about the numbers.

“Really for me, stats are for losers,” Morris said after the game.

Morris and Robinson acknowledge improvement must come and the offense can’t always rely on the defense and special teams to produce the points.

“Have we reached our peak of what you want to play and how you can be best?” Morris asked on Monday. “No. But I think that’s a part of what the season is. I think that’s a part of steady improvement, steady growth, and I love that about our football team. I think we know that, I think they know that, and I think we’re really comfortable being able to go out there and win football games however we can.”

Mayfield threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in Sunday’s 33-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mayfield has passed for eight touchdowns with two interceptions. Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million deal as a free agent, has four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Wide receiver Mike Evans became the Buccaneers’ career scoring leader last week. Evans is only one part in a passing game that also features wide receiver Chris Godwin and then promoted Sterling Shepard from the practice squad as another option for Mayfield.

“I think that it really makes it difficult for the defense,” Godwin said. “It’s one thing when a guy is going off because you feed the hot hand, right? But if we’re able to spread the ball around that much, everybody gets involved. … You can mix in your quick game, your deep passing game, play actions, screens.”

Success in the South

The Bucs have won the past three NFC South titles. This is their fourth 3-1 start in the past five years. They’ve also been successful against Atlanta lately, winning six of the past eight meetings between the division rivals, outscoring the Falcons by 51 points in those games.

Yellow flags

The Falcons committed nine penalties for 76 yards on Sunday and already have 30 penalties for the season.

“We can’t have those,” Zac Robinson said Tuesday. “There’s certain situations we’re trying to avoid, and obviously it’s at the discretion of the refs to call those. And you got to just keep playing, and so those have been tough.”

Cooking with Baker

Mayfield is off to a solid start after resurrecting a stalled career in 2023 and signing a three-year, $100 million contract to remain in Tampa Bay.

The No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft is coming off throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in last Sunday’s 33-16 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles. He also ran for a TD.

He enters Thursday night with a 106.9 passer rating that ranks fourth in the NFL. He’s second in TD passes (eight) and fourth in passing yards (984).

Falcons offense is coming

Zac Robinson says more offensive consistency is close because “there’s been games where we’ve executed really well.”

“We’re trying to find that mix to where we know we’re close to getting over the hump with some things, and guys are just — they’re eager,” Robinson said. “They want to be the most explosive offense and the best offense in the NFL.”

Comfort zone in Tampa

Godwin attributes some of Mayfield’s success to the comfort level that comes with being with the same team for a second season.

“And yes, this is our first year in this offensive system, but it’s his second year with this group of guys and I think the camaraderie that we built last year really helped,” Godwin said.

“I think the adversity that we faced when we all stuck together — I think (that) really helps this year,” Godwin added. “I think it’s just a natural maturation process, just for him as a player.”

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