ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 3: Kirk Cousins #18 of the Atlanta Falcons smiles after an NFL football … [+] game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 3, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
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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?
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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?
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 3: Kirk Cousins #18 of the Atlanta Falcons stands on the sidelines during … [+] the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 3, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
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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.
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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?
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“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.
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That pushed the game into overtime at 30-30.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 03: KhaDarel Hodge #12 of the Atlanta Falcons runs with the ball to score … [+] a game winning 45 yard touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during overtime at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 03, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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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.
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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.
The Braves will be available to more in-market fans in 2025, in an interesting deal that seems like a good thing for fans. Having a broadcast TV option for in-market viewers is a pretty huge win, as not having to pay for a cable package while still being able to watch some Braves baseball is only going to expand the number of fans who can access Braves games this year. This represents a small loosening of the grip that the RSN/blackout zone era has had on access to watch local teams. Meanwhile, the rumor mill churns and we continue our season reviews.
Braves News
The Braves will be simulcasting 15 games over broadcast television in-market in 2025, in a deal with Gray Media.
Gaurav took a look at one of the bittersweet stories in the organization for 2024, as the big-bonus Ambioris Tavarez took meaningful steps forward in a small sample, but suffered from injury.
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MLB News
Braves’ legend (sarcasm) Griffin Canning reportedly agreed to a 1 year deal just north of $4 million with the division rival Mets.
Nolan Arenado reportedly used his no-trade clause to block a trade from the Cardinals to the Astros, but the teams are reportedly still in discussions.
Old friend Bryse Wilson signed a major league deal with the White Sox worth just over $1 million to compete for a rotation spot.
The Angels and White sox made a minor trade, as the White Sox sent catcher Chuckie Robinson for cash.
Atlanta is opening another housing complex for those who are homeless — the third such opening this year.
The latest reimagines the 1960s-era Atlanta Motel, which had sat deteriorating along Moreland Avenue right off I-20 in east Atlanta.
The 56 units, renovated by the developer Stryant, will be open to people considered chronically homeless, meaning they’ve been without a place for more than a year.
“This is a blueprint now on what’s possible, to take old hotels, old motels, turn them into studio apartment units in this growing city — to make sure no one is left behind,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Wednesday at the opening.
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The Atlanta Housing Authority is providing housing vouchers for the units, so residents pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. Fulton County has committed to providing supportive services.
This follows the opening of two similar complexes — the Melody downtown and 729 Bonaventure in Poncey-Highland.
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