30 most insane stats in the NFL so far this season

14. Kirk Cousins joins 500 yard club
Cousins puts up 509 yards against the Bucs in Week 5

At one point, it seemed like the NFL was going more and more towards Madden-level statistics, putting up cuckoo passing numbers with teams scoring at will. The rulebook was changing to make it easier to be a quarterback and wide receiver, and we expected to see every record for passing and receiving fall eventually. However, that’s not always the case. 

Take the 500-yard passing game. One might think this happens at a pretty regular occurrence, but it’s actually incredibly rare for what it is. It’s only happened 27 times in the history of the NFL. Players from Y.A. Tittle and Norm Van Brocklin to Phil Simms and Dan Marino to Drew Brees and Tom Brady have thrown for 500 yards in their career. This season, Kirk Cousins made himself the 27th member of the 500-yard club.

Cousins hasn’t looked himself this season after he had Achilles surgery last year. His mobility has been severely impacted, and he’s trying to make due with what he has in front of him. What he has is Drake London and Darnell Mooney to catch passes from him. They did that with consistency in Week 5.

On Thursday Night Football in front of the world, the Bucs and Falcons showed why this rivalry should be as exciting as it is. The two teams were battling back and forth before the game hit overtime. There, Cousins orchestrated a drive to take them to paydirt and win the game. Cousins showed that he didn’t need mobility to continue making history under center.