TAMPA, Fla. – Kirk Cousins ​​asked Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris last Tuesday if he could speak to the entire team. Morris gave him time on Friday and Cousins ​​spoke to the players coming off a weak loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7.

“This league wears you down and tests you every day and it just throws you down and you have to get back up,” Cousins ​​said in his postgame press conference on Sunday. “And sometimes I have to encourage myself. And as I was encouraging myself, I thought, ‘You know what? Maybe someone else could use this too.’”

The Falcons responded with a 31-26 win over the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers here at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Safety Jessie Bates III said afterward that Cousins’ words, which were kept secret, were particularly influential. Atlanta is now 4-0 in the NFC South with two wins over the Bucs, their main rival for division supremacy.

Cousins ​​in particular had a big day. The veteran quarterback completed 23 of 29 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. After a Falcons record 509 yard performance against the Bucs in Week 5, he continued his championship over Tampa. Cousins ​​becomes only the fourth quarterback in NFL history with 750 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns against a single opponent in a season, joining Dan Marino, Joe Montana and YA Tittle.

Cousins ​​found tight end Kyle Pitts for two touchdowns and wide receiver Darnell Mooney and running back Bijan Robinson for one each. He became the first Falcons quarterback since Matt Ryan in 2020 to throw three touchdown passes in a first half.

This weekend also marked a year since Cousins ​​tore his right Achilles tendon in Week 8 of 2023 while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Atlanta signed Cousins ​​to a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason. Cousins ​​said he reflected on this milestone earlier this week.

Cousins, who wasn’t known for his speed even before the injury, felt so good that he launched a 13-yard scramble in the fourth quarter, a drive that put the Falcons’ game on ice.

“As a player, I want to do more of that,” Cousins ​​said. “I always told my coaches, ‘I can do some of this.’ I don’t do it enough.

Falcons coach Raheem Morris said seeing Cousins’ run made him want to “have a pool party.”

“He looked like Patrick Mahomes out there,” Morris joked.

After the win, Cousins ​​didn’t give a speech. Bates, who had a forced fumble and an interception, said Cousins ​​was dancing in the locker room, perhaps reprising his role as Kirko Chainz.

For road games, the Falcons adopted the motto of a lyric from a song by Atlanta rapper Bankroll Fresh that says, “Get into your trap and take over your trap.” Basically, it means to break into someone else’s house and close it take over.

“We’re enjoying winning and the music is playing and I just wanted to enjoy that for a minute,” Cousins ​​said. “And it was kind of a celebration with the boys. … It was about going out on the street and falling into someone’s trap and then taking over the trap.”