A new hero emerged in Atlanta on Thursday Night Football.
After trailing at home 30-27, the Falcons managed to force overtime to eventually beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30.
On their last drive before regulation ended, Younghoe Koo nailed a 52-yard kick to send the game to another period, where the Falcons won the ball first. It took just four plays for the winning touchdown to transpire.
Kirk Cousins ended his masterclass night with a 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown to KhaDarel Hodge.
Tampa Bay did not play bad at all, but will regret not capitalizing on opportunities to put the game away sooner. The result moved both NFC South sides to 3-2, with Atlanta feeling the better of the two.
Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers:
WINNER: KhaDarel Hodge, Falcons
The butterfly effect was in full effect. After Drake London had to exit the game upon making a first-down play, the 29-year-old Hodge stepped in for the ensuing call.
Of course, Cousins managed to find Hodge in stride for the aforementioned game-winning touchdown. It was just Hodge’s second catch of the game, which went for a total of 67 yards and the score.
The catch was also Hodge’s second ever receiving touchdown.
LOSER: Bucs’ offense
Again, Tampa Bay played a solid game and would’ve won against most teams with their play. But the points did sputter in the second half, and the Buccaneers will only have themselves to blame.
Running back Bucky Irving fumbled late to give Atlanta some hope, even though Lavonte David temporarily came to the rescue with a pick. But the Bucs didn’t go anywhere with the ball and failed to kill enough time, eventually punting it back to the Falcons that set up the game-tying field goal.
Baker Mayfield completing 19 of 24 passes for 180 yards, three touchdowns and no picks, but it just wasn’t enough after a slower second half.
WINNER: Kirk Cousins
Atlanta definitely liked that. Cousins, in his first year as a Falcon, had one of the best passing performances in franchise history, throwing for a whopping 509 yards, four touchdowns and the aforementioned pick on 42 of 58 completions. The 509 passing yards marked a career high for the veteran.
Drake London’s 12 catches for 154 yards and a score, Darnell Mooney’s nine catches for 105 yards and two scores and Kyle Pitts’ seven catches for 88 yards all played pivotal roles.
The Buccaneers stayed in front thanks to their offense in the first half, but just couldn’t keep up with Cousins’ form in the end.
LOSER: Bucs’ defensive line effort
In spite of Cousins’ video game-like numbers, the Buccaneers’ defensive line brought the heat as much as possible.
Tampa Bay sacked Cousins four times for a loss of 32 yards while also logging 11 quarterback hits. Logan Hall recorded five of those hits to go with his two sacks, while five other defenders managed at least one QB hit on Cousins.
However, the performance went to waste and veteran defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will have to find ways to clean up the secondary.
WINNER: Redemption
Falcons kicker Koo seemed destined to fall into the loser category after this game. But he turned things around after missing a kick and having one blocked.
Koo finished the game going 3-for-5 on field goal attempts, with a long of 54. The game-tying attempt went for 52, while he made all three extra points.
The two misses were Koo’s first of the season after he entered the game with a 9-for-9 mark, but he’ll be remembered for his vital make than his two misses.