With a fast pace and OT win, Kirk Cousins ​​and Falcons might have something good on their hands after all

ATLANTA – Many fans began leaving Mercedes-Benz Stadium before the end of Thursday night's game, and really, who could blame them? The Falcons have burned Atlanta down so many times, reneging on their promise and dashing fans' hopes.

When Kirk Cousins ​​appeared to end an extraordinary night against Tampa Bay by throwing a devastating interception with 1:52 left, some fans thought they knew exactly how this story would end.

But that's the thing about football: every now and then this strange ball bounces back strangely.

Atlanta pulled off two remarkable plays – a literal last-second rush to score the ball and set up for a field goal to force overtime, and a walkoff touchdown against perhaps the most unlikely receiver on the roster – to earn an improbable 36th :30 win Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

It's one game out of 17, one win still to come. But it feels worth something more, it feels like this could be one of those crucial victories that define future success. The Falcons are now 3-2 and lead the division with wins over the Buccaneers (3-2) and Saints (2-2). Even though Cousins ​​hasn't fully recovered from his ACL injury, he's still good enough to throw for 509 yards and four touchdowns. And the team receives input from both top and bottom of the squad – in the case of the final, the emphasis is on “bottom”.

KhaDarel Hodge went undrafted out of Prairie View A&M. He played for four teams in seven years. He never caught more than 14 passes in a row season. Before Thursday, you could count the number of career touchdown receptions he had on one finger.

On the fourth play from scrimmage in overtime, Cousins ​​found Hodge on a short 5-yard stop route that by all normal football expectations should have ended in a quick tackle, setting up Tampa Bay's 40th possession for second -and-5 before.

Instead, Hodge turned inside and started a full sprint right at the end zone. He outran seven different Buccaneers and ran straight toward the “C” in “FALCONS” painted in the west end zone of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was a remarkable, miraculous end to what turned out to be another of the Falcon's underperformances.

“When I crossed the finish line, I kind of blacked out,” Hodge said later. “You can’t make this up. It’s like a movie.”

His teammates swarmed Hodge and lifted him onto their shoulders. He threw “A” to the cheering crowd – two fingers down, thumb as a crossbar – as tears welled in his eyes. Once back on the field, he hugged Falcons owner Arthur Blank and laughed his way through postgame on-field interviews and pensive reflections in the locker room.

“Every year you're fighting for a spot on the roster, the fourth or fifth receiver, and to get out of the muck you have to wake up with that mindset,” Hodge said. “Whether it's on special teams or on offense, you've got to have that mindset and not give up because adversity is going to come and you've just got to keep going, man.”

Cousins ​​steered the Falcons through that overtime campaign and he also developed a rushing, zero-forgiveness drive to force overtime. Without a timeout, Cousins ​​spent most of the nine-play, 51-yard drive on the sideline. But with just 12 seconds left, Cousins ​​appeared to do the one thing a team with no timeouts simply can't do in this situation – he threw up the middle and hit Drake London for 12 yards. The Falcons stormed to the line and Cousins ​​shot the ball upfield with one second left in the game – enough time for kicker Younghoe Koo to tie the game with a field goal.

“Every single week (Cousins) was better,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after the game, “whether it was explosiveness, whether it was execution, whether it was just a rhythm and a routine with him and Zac (Robinson). , Falcons offensive coordinator) and our offensive staff. I mean, it just keeps getting better.”

These are the kinds of drives that age fans, players and coaches into dog ages. But on this night, when the franchise needs to maintain its good momentum, the Falcons will trade a few gray hairs for a necessary, exciting win.

It's far too early in the season for Atlanta to be thinking about games in January. Perhaps the Falcons, who can celebrate this win in a bye week, will return to reality. Maybe they lose a trap game to Carolina in Week 6, can't keep up with Seattle, or fail in a Buccaneer rematch at Tampa Bay. Maybe they'll go back to the same old hawks, doing just enough to inspire hope but never enough to inspire joy.

Then again, perhaps everything Morris preached is starting to take hold. Maybe Cousins ​​is starting to get comfortable on offense. Maybe the team reduces the number of demonic potential game-killers from four or five times per game to one or two. Maybe all the talent Atlanta has amassed in the receiving corps and backfield is starting to blossom. Maybe, just maybe, this team is on its way to greater victories than moral ones.

“I don’t want to call us a team of destiny,” Morris said, wisely downplaying any euphoric declarations after the win. “There is only one Destiny team each year. Hopefully we’ll figure that out when we get there.”

Hey, more unlikely things have happened. Like an undrafted journeyman running away from an entire team for a walkoff touchdown. You never know how football will develop.