He still doesn’t steer the ball with his back leg like he used to. Thursday night it didn’t matter.

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, in his fifth game after returning from a torn Achilles that ended his 2023 season, set a career high and a franchise record with 509 passing yards in an improbable 36-30 overtime victory over the Buccaneers.

It was only the 25th 500-yard passing game in NFL history, and by far the most anyone had thrown in one game all season.

At 509, Cousins ​​is tied with Vince Ferragamo (who threw for 509 yards on December 26, 1982) for 15th on the all-time singles list.

Cousins ​​threw 58 passes that night, completing 42 and adding four touchdowns against an interception that seemed to seal his team’s fate late in the fourth quarter.

And so on the night the Falcons inducted Matt Ryan into the team’s Ring of Honor, breaking his own team single-game record of 503 from his 2016 MVP season.