Kirk Cousins was ecstatic. Lamar Jackson was not. But the respective Falcons and Ravens quarterbacks delivered when their teams needed them most and the league recognized each player on Wednesday afternoon as the NFC and AFC Offensive Players of the Week.
Cousins guided Atlanta to a thrilling 36-30 primetime win over Tampa Bay, hitting 42 of 58 attempts (72.4 percent) for four touchdowns, a 114.8 passer rating and a franchise-record 509 yards. It marked only the 24th game in the NFL’s 105-year history in which a player reached 500 passing yards. While Cousins led Atlanta to a share of first place in the NFC South and got the attention of his former coach, he also spotlighted the story of KhaDarel Hodge.
The Atlanta journeyman ran a 5-yard comeback route, secured the pass from Cousins, then outran most of the Buccaneers’ secondary through the middle of the field on a 45-yard game-ending touchdown in overtime. But the lifetime route Hodge ran before that moment may have been more inspiring.
Cousins, who leads Atlanta (3-2) into Carolina (1-4) on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX), now has eight career Player of the Week awards. Among Michigan State players, that’s second behind kicker Morten Andersen (nine-time winner).
Three days after Cousins’ heroics, Jackson became the first player in NFL annals to play multiple career games with at least 300 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and four touchdown passes. In Baltimore’s 41-38 overtime win at Cincinnati, Jackson was 26 of 42 (61.9 percent) for 348 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, a 119.9 passer rating. He also ran for 55 yards.
Kicker Justin Tucker (12) is the only player in Ravens history with more weekly honors than Jackson, who collected his 11th award Wednesday. Since the Ravens selected Jackson in the first round of the 2018 draft, only Josh Allen (16) has more weekly awards.
The Ravens (3-2) host the Commanders (4-1) in a Beltway showdown on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Discover more from Pro Football Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.