Earlier this week we took one way too early look at the MVP candidates. We now need to add a name to the discussion.

Kirk cousins.

And that’s not just because he threw for a career-high and franchise record 509 yards in an overtime win over the Buccaneers on Thursday night. With two NFC South wins in just four days, the Falcons have stolen the driver’s seat in the division. And if the Falcons win enough games to secure the top seed in the NFC, Cousins ​​will become one of two de facto finalists for the award.

It’s a quarterback thing unless a running back or a receiver does something historic. (No receiver has ever done anything historic enough to win the regular season MVP.) And unless there’s a quarterback from a team other than one of the top seeds who does something historic, the MVP will be the quarterback of one of the two No. 1 seeds.

Can the Falcons be the No. 1 seed in the NFC? Absolute. For four weeks (and one game), there is no juggernaut in the conference. Not a team of fate. Not a city through which the road to the Super Bowl will lead.

Sure, the Vikings are 4-0. They have more to win before they remind anyone of 2009 (when they were the No. 2 seed) or 1998 (when they were the top seed). The NFC East is a mess, where Cousins’ other former team is the best of the bunch so far.

The 49ers are the only team that can find their footing and secure first place in the conference. And if/when the 49ers reach their full potential, it won’t be easy for the Falcons and Cousins ​​(a Kyle Shanahan favorite) to go there and win.

That was the problem with previous Cousins ​​teams in the playoffs. They’re good enough to get there. They’re not good enough to beat that season’s juggernaut.

This year they might be the juggernaut.