• Among the best when the game is balanced: Kirk Cousins Committed just one turnover-worthy play with 2 minutes or less to go in the fourth quarter all year.
• Close, late contests allowed Cousins to improve: In a game where the score differential is three points or less with no more than 60 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cousins’ 60.3 PFF passing grade ranks second in the NFL.
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
as Atlanta Falcons Facing a 30-27 deficit with 1:21 left in their fifth game of the 2024 season, the pressure was palpable. Got the stops he needed against Atlanta’s defense Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ Crime, but no time limit left. With no margin for error, the quarterback Kirk Cousins And the company should make another remarkable comeback in a high-octane divisional game.
Cousins grabbed his pixie dust and did just that, driving Atlanta 46 yards down the field and on the kicker. Yongho KooThe range of things knotted up. And in overtime, the magic never stopped, as the quarterback completed three straight passes — including a 45-yard strike. Khadarel Hajj That totally wins the competition.
Beginning in his first season in Atlanta, Cousins has already developed a penchant for late-game heroics. He led three game-winning drives (two in primetime, no less) after posting none last year. To put it bluntly, all three teams have been inextricably linked to the Falcons football narrative shift from a late-surrender team to one that puts them at risk. And there haven’t been many better quarterbacks this year in nail-biting, close-game situations than Cousins, PFF data claims.
With 1 minute or less left in a matchup, the Falcons’ new $180 million man has been excellent, especially compared to his peers. In a game where the score differential is three points or less with no more than 60 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cousins’ 60.3 PFF passing grade ranks second in the NFL. Likewise, his 66.0 passing grade ranks fourth when the scoreboard gap widens to seven points with more than 1 minute remaining. Those numbers may seem low by conventional PFF grading standards, but they’re actually pretty good given the difficulty in context.
Kirk Cousins’ 2024 PFF Grade of the Game
Cousins’ superhuman act didn’t just manifest itself during the final minutes of a game. The 36-year-old was also excellent as the clock hit the final 2-minute warning: Cousins’ passing grade on seven-point plays or three-point plays with little time remaining was both top-11 among all. quarterback
Especially surprising is that the cape can almost develop on cousins as they endure the fourth trimester. The signal-caller wasn’t great in the final frame of the game — his 59.4 PFF passing grade was just 19m — but he passed the grade in 2 minutes, ninth slot among all quarterbacks, then fifth with just 1 minute remaining.
Perhaps most impressive is that Cousins committed just one turnover-worthy play with 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter all year, and only 1 minute left. Unlike most of his peers in this situation, the Falcon star has had ample opportunity to make mistakes. Cousins’ 27 dropbacks in 2 minutes in the fourth quarter are the most in the NFL with nine, and double his 18 minutes for second.
Against the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, Cousins was exceptional all evening, especially as the spotlight loomed large. In the fourth quarter, Cousins completed 11 of his 17 attempts for 101 yards and a touchdown, tossing a big-time throw but promising a turnover-worthy play (an interception on fourth-and-15 on a play that was already unlikely to happen. transformed). His metrics in the fourth quarter and overtime ended with an 83.5 passing grade, Cousins’ highest in his new uniform and best since he tore his Achilles last season.
It hasn’t all been perfect for the Falcons’ upstart offense this season, which has struggled to give its primary playmakers enough reps and find a regular rhythm. But what has worked rather consistently is that Cousins thrives in the game’s scariest moments — a very encouraging sign for a hopeful playoff team that should only improve throughout the year.
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