FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- What happened Thursday night, Kirk Cousins said, is how the Atlanta Falcons offense is supposed to look. It's how it's supposed to feel.
"There was a drive in the second quarter when I threw a couple passes where I was basically anticipating where Kyle (Pitts) was going to be or where Drake (London) was going to be," Atlanta's first-year quarterback said. "I was ahead of it a little bit in a good way and threw it decisively. I just haven't been that decisive the first few weeks. I've been trying to ensure that's where they're going and ensure that's what I'm seeing before I let it rip.
"(Thursday) there was a little bit more of, 'I know where they're going, I know where they're going to be. I'm going to let that rip early.' The anticipation took another step (Thursday), and that's what I was used to kind of having when you play with guys for three, four, five, six years. I can feel it starting to come."
That anticipation plus a whole lot of opportunities added up to one of the most prolific nights in Falcons history in a 36-30 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. Atlanta's 477 passing yards -- calculating Cousins' 509 yards minus sack yardage -- were the most by an NFL team since the Bengals totaled 498 against the Ravens in 2021, according to TruMedia.
"It's a step in the right direction," Cousins said. "It's such a week-to-week league where it can be all over the map. You just never know what the next game will bring and what the next game will call for. But when you have 81 snaps and 58 pass attempts, you certainly get some opportunities to spread it around, and we were able to do that (Thursday)."
Seven Falcons caught at least three passes, as Cousins tallied the most passing attempts of his career. The last time a quarterback threw the ball more was Patrick Mahomes (68 attempts against the Titans) in 2022.
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson "kind of put the ball in the pass game's hands tonight and let us spread it around," Cousins said. "As a group, we've kind of been better each week. I felt like we took another step (Thursday). We spread it around. I think that's kind of how we're built, is to get a lot of people involved. We have a lot of trust in several skill-position players."
Since arriving in Atlanta for OTAs in the spring, Cousins has talked about the importance of "time on task" as he and fellow first-year Falcon Darnell Mooney integrate themselves with Atlanta's veterans and Robinson, the team's first-year play caller.
"That stuff takes time," coach Raheem Morris said. "You see it getting better and better throughout OTAs and camp. Now, you're starting to see some of the fruits of their labor come into place. It really becomes muscle memory."
Cousins set Atlanta's franchise record for completions (42) and yards and recorded the most passing yards by a quarterback over 36 years old in NFL history.
"I was on the sideline when I wasn't in, so I started watching the show myself," said wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, who caught the game-winning 45-yard touchdown pass. "I was like, 'Oh, he hot (tonight),' and I said, 'They let him get in the groove.' He got in the groove, and I didn't know he was at 500 (yards), but congrats to Kirk, he took over, and that's big time."
Here's more on what might have been missed in Thursday night's mayhem:
The Falcons' three victories this season have come despite them having a 26% win probability (Saints), 5% win probability (Buccaneers) and 1% win probability (Eagles) at some point in those games, according to Next Gen Stats. The mathematical probability of winning all three games? .013%.
"I don't want to say that we're comfortable in these games," wide receiver Drake London said. "I mean, I would like to chill in the fourth quarter at some point, but I think it goes back to that mentality of just, 'Don't blink.' We all want to win. We're all competitors, and that's what it just boils down to at the end of the day."
Cousins admitted Atlanta was "playing with fire" by throwing the ball to the middle of the field on their final offensive play of regular despite having no timeouts. The Falcons were at the Tampa Bay 43-yard line when the ball was snapped with 12 seconds remaining on the clock.
Rather than attempt a sideline route that would have allowed a receiver to get out of bounds and stop the clock, Cousins found London for a 14-yard gain over the middle to set up a dramatic sprint to the line of scrimmage to stop the clock, which Atlanta did with two seconds remaining.
"The operation of the slider and the spike that was absolutely unbelievable," Morris said.
Neuzil hit 12.3 mph as he sprinted to spot the ball after London's catch, according to Next Gen Stats.
"He may have something coming his way," Morris said. "You watch Neuzil run down the field and his (offensive line) buddies come right behind him. The ball is thrown, and you see those guys take off, all of them. It was well done by everybody."
London was the first read on the play, Morris said Friday.
"We recognized the situation and thought about some of the things they would commonly do in those situations," Morris said. "You could say you want to get to the sideline, but it might be harder with the defense they are playing. We went with our instincts, and we were able to execute that play at a very high level."
Kyle Pitts found no personal vindication in his big game Thursday night, he said.
"No," he said. "We came out with the win. Red is the game-winner. It's about the team. I think as an offense, we took a step. I contributed to it just like the other receivers did. Just playing as one."
Four days after having no catches against the Saints, Pitts finished Thursday with seven catches for 88 yards. It was the fourth-most productive yardage game of his career, topped only by three 100-plus yard efforts during his rookie season in 2021.
Pitts' 53 routes against the Buccaneers were the most of his career, and his 43 yards after the catch were his third-best, according to TruMedia.
"It's the same answer when we didn't find him, I go where my reads take me," Cousins said. "I never drop back and say, 'Where is Kyle? Let me throw to him.' When you have 81 plays, 58 attempts, it gives you that opportunity. He did such a good job after the catch turning 5-, 6-, 7-yard catches into much bigger gains."
Pitts recorded eight catches for 105 yards in the Falcons' first four games of the season. Atlanta is now 7-0 when he has more than 80 receiving yards in a game.
After Atlanta's win agains the Saints in Week 4, Cousins said that watching the energy of The Nest, the team's corner section for especially expressive fans in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and their dancing during "Swag Surfin'" was "one of my favorite things about being a Falcon."
After Thursday's win, he got in on the action with them.
"I love it. It's so fun," Cousins said. "That's why you play. I was taught this week by Taylor Rooks with Amazon. I did a sit-down with her. She's from Atlanta, and she taught me how to do it. The key is when the beat drops. Initially it gets going, gets everybody in the stadium aware of it, but when the beat drops, that's when it really gets going. It's good energy."
Atlanta's Avery Williams may have made the most important unnoticed play of the game. After the Falcons improbably stopped Tampa Bay's final drive of the game, pushing the Buccaneers back 14 yards while only 30 seconds went off the clock, Williams faked out the Tampa Bay punt coverage team to ensure a touchback that gave the Falcons the ball on the 20-yard line rather than closer to their goal line.
"I don't want their eyes on the ball, so if I just show body language like I'm going to catch the ball I can distract them," Williams said.
Williams used his experience covering punts to inform his acting job, he said, settling near where the ball landed but just in front of it to give a convincing fake.
"The hardest one is not the one where the returner just completely runs the other direction and fakes like he's catching it. It's when you stay in the area but take them away from it," he said. "That's my job back there."
* Bijan Robinson's 28-yard gain in the third quarter was the third-longest run of his professional career. London's 12 catches were a career-high and his 154 yards were the second-most in his career.
* Rookie linebacker JD Bertrand played 38 snaps Thursday and finished third on the team with five tackles in the most extensive playing time of his short career.
Rookie defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, who was active on game day for the first time in his career, played 12 snaps and made three tackles.
* After forcing two fumbles against Tampa Bay, Atlanta safety Jessie Bates is fifth in the NFL in that category since the start of the 2023 season with five, according to TruMedia.
"It's something that you just work every day," Bates said. "You get yourself in position to make a tackle, but I always say a tackle is not good enough. You've got yourself in a position to make a play, why not just punch the ball out? I just try to put it on tape during practice, during games. If we can get all the other guys to start punching at the ball, we'll be happy with the results."