Kirk Cousins becomes fourth-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 40,000 passing yards

ATLANTA — Kirk Cousins is now in elite company.

Cousins reached 40,000 career passing yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, becoming the fourth-fastest quarterback in league history to achieve that milestone.

The Falcons quarterback entered the prime-time matchup needing 133 passing yards to join the exclusive club. In the third quarter, Cousins threw to Darnell Mooney for 5 yards to bring his game total to exactly 133.

Cousins reached the milestone in his 153rd career game. It took long-time Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan 151 games to reach 40,000 career passing yards, which he did during the 2017 season. He was the fastest player at the time to do so. In 2019, however, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford reached that total in his 147th career game. Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees also previously held the record, accumulating 40,000 yards in 152 appearances, just one fewer game than Cousins. Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer Dan Marino also reached 40,000 career yards in 153 games.

Only 23 quarterbacks in NFL history had thrown for at least 40,000 passing yards. Cousins has become the 24th.

In the march to 40,000, Cousins recorded 300-yard games in 50 of his 153 outings. He reached the 400-yard marker eight times, including his career high of 460 yards in 2022 against the Indianapolis Colts.

That’s not all. Cousins entered Sunday’s game with 273 touchdown passes, tied with San Francisco 49ers Hall-of-Fame quarterback Joe Montana for 19th-most in NFL history. In the first quarter, Cousins threw his 274th career touchdown pass to Drake London to cap off an excellent opening drive and move past Montana, securing the No. 19 spot all to himself.

Currently, Cousins is No. 24 on the all-time passing yards list. However, now he’s not far behind Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, who finished his career with 40,239 yards.