Offensive Players of Week: QBs take honors after big division wins

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Kirk Cousins threw four touchdown passes in a 31-26 win at Tampa Bay, giving the Falcons a significant lead in the NFC South. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Jameis Winston made his first start in two years and guided the Browns to an upset win over the Ravens. The two quarterbacks are the respective NFC and AFC Offensive Players of the Week, the league announced Wednesday afternoon.

The NFL’s only player with four touchdown passes and no interceptions over a full slate of Week 8 games, Cousins was 23 of 29 (79.3 percent) for 276 yards, compiling a 145.9 passer rating. But the veteran’s most noteworthy play was his 13-yard scramble late in the game, allowing the Falcons (5-3) to run out the clock and open a full-game lead with asterisk – a head-to-head sweep of the Buccaneers (4-4). Cousins was key in gaining that advantage, too, because his eight touchdown passes combined in two October games against Tampa Bay tied for the most in NFL history against a single opponent in the same month (Vince Ferragamo also did it in 1980).

Winston injected new life into a dormant Browns offense, replacing an injured Deshaun Watson. He passed for 334 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in Cleveland’s 29-24 triumph over Baltimore, including a game-winning, 38-yard strike to Cedric Tillman with less than a minute remaining. No other NFL player in Week 8 had at least 300 passing yards, three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. It’s the first weekly honor for Winston since Week 4 of 2019, with the Buccaneers. He also won the honor in Week 1 of 2016.

Cousins and the Falcons (5-3) host Dallas (3-4) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX). At the same time, Winston is set to make his second start for Cleveland (2-6) when the Browns host the Chargers (4-3) at Huntington Bank Field (1 p.m. ET, CBS).