NFL 500-yard passing games: Kirk Cousins joins elite club, breaks Matt Ryan's Falcons record vs. Buccaneers

Kirk Cousins came through in the clutch on "Thursday Night Football" and etched his name in the NFL record books in the process.

Cousins and the Falcons came equipped for a shootout against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, throwing for 509 yards and four touchdowns in a 36-30 comeback overtime win.

Cousins needed nearly every yard of KhaDarel Hodge's game-winning 45-yard touchdown reception to crack the 500-yard mark. He notched his 31st career game-winning drive in the victory and his third this season in just five games with the Falcons.

For more on Cousins' comeback and the members of the 500-yard passing game club, The Sporting News has you covered below.

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Kirk Cousins joins 500-yard passing game club in overtime win over Buccaneers

Atlanta seemed destined for a loss after Cousins threw a bad interception trailing by three points with under two minutes remaining in the game. The Falcons still had three timeouts, though, and the defense did its job, forcing Tampa Bay to punt after three plays and a 10-yard holding penalty.

Cousins didn't spoil the extra life, marching Atlanta down the field on a nine-play, 46-yard drive to put kicker Younghoe Koo in field-goal range to tie the game. Koo buried the 52-yarder after a delay of game penalty, sending the game into overtime.

The Falcons received the kickoff to start the extra period and only needed four plays to find the end zone. Cousins hit Drake London on back-to-back plays for gains of six and 18 yards, respectively, but the star receiver suffered a minor injury on the second catch.

That opened the door for unheralded receiver Hodge to haul in his second reception of the game — and he took it 45 yards to the house to seal the win.

The 45-yard reception pushed Cousins over the 500-yard mark on the night.

He finished with 509 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception while completing 42 of his 58 attempts (72.4%).

With the breakout prime-time game, Cousins joined an elite group of quarterbacks to achieve the rare 500-yard passing game feat.

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List of NFL 500-yard passing games

Cousins is the 21st quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 500 yards in a single game.

Rams QB Norm Van Brocklin owns the record for the most passing yards in a game at 554 in a win over the Yanks on Sept. 28, 1951.

Bengals star Joe Burrow was the most recent quarterback to achieve the feat, throwing for 525 yards in a win over the Ravens on Dec. 26, 2021.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has the most 500-yard games with four, while Patriots and Buccaneers QB Tom Brady and Saints QB Drew Brees each have two.

Ironically, Cousins achieved the feat on the night that Matt Ryan was inducted into the Falcons' "Ring of Honor." Ryan previously owned Atlanta's single-game franchise passing record with 503 yards in a win over the Panthers in 2016, but Cousins spoiled that feat on Ryan's big night.

Here's a look at all the previous quarterbacks with at least 500 passing yards.