Kirk Cousins once again dismantled the Tampa Bay defense.
The Falcons moved to 4-0 in the NFC South, with quarterback Kirk Cousins enjoying another stellar outing against the Bucs, and tight end Kyle Pitts finding the end zone twice. It wasn’t without its mishaps, though.
Read on for Hat tips & head-scratchers from Sunday’s win.
Hat tips
Kirktober
Ah, Kirktober — where the leaves begin to change, there’s an autumn bite in the air, and the Atlanta Falcons quarterback goes bonkers against the Buccaneers twice. Kirktober came to a close on Sunday with an exclamation point, Cousins completing 23 of 29 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns. He was surgical all afternoon, threading balls downfield and converting a couple of key downs with his legs. Kirk Cousins was masterful against the Bucs this season, tossing for 785 yards and eight touchdowns — and his performance Sunday helped vault the Falcons to the top of the divisional standings.
Let’s hope this is an annual thing.
Batesball
Get the guy a statue already. Jessie Bates is the best acquisition Atlanta has made in eons, and his signing in free agency last season continues to pay dividends. Bates started his day by forcing a fumble on the Bucs opening drive, leading to a Falcons touchdown on the ensuing possession to move up 7-0. He then added to his takeaway count later in the game by laying out for an interception on a flea flicker in the third quarter. Bates has forced three fumbles this year and has two interceptions to his name.
Pitts goes off for National Tight Ends Day
Kyle Pitts saved his best NFL performance for National Tight Ends Day, because of course. Pitts looked fluid in his routes and showed his explosiveness on his second touchdown of the day. An oft-frustrating player because of his failure to capitalize on his potential, Pitts has really turned it on in recent weeks — which bodes well for the continued success of the passing game.
Fourth down success
The Falcons went 2/2 on fourth downs on Sunday, the first attempt leading to quarterback Kirk Cousins’ long touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Pitts on 4th & 3 to put Atlanta up early. Cousins would chip in later in the game on a QB sneak. The Falcons’ success on fourth downs has been one of the unexpected bright spots this season, so kudos to coach Raheem Morris for his willingness to roll the dice.
Channeling Desean Jackson
Just as he tallied two touchdowns, Kyle Pitts received two mentions on this list — this one was a head-scratcher that could have been a game-changer. On his second touchdown of the day, after splitting two defenders and darting downfield, Pitts slowed up shy of the endzone and left the ball exposed. The defender dislodged it, and thankfully the review ruled that the ball had crossed the plane — but this had disaster written all over it.
This had shades of wide receiver Desean Jackson dropping the football prior to crossing the plane in 2008.