ATLANTA — Kirk Cousins ​​is now in elite company.

Cousins ​​reached 40,000 career passing yards on Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs, becoming the fourth-fastest quarterback in league history to reach the 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, bringing his game total to exactly 133.

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

Only 23 quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown for at least 40,000 passing yards. Cousins ​​is the 24th.

In the march toward 40,000, Cousins ​​has recorded 300-yard games in 50 of his 153 outings. He has reached the 400-yard mark 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 in NFL history. In the first quarter, Cousins ​​threw his 274th career touchdown pass to Drake London to cap a stellar opening drive and move past Montana for 19th place all to himself.

Cousins ​​currently sits at number 24 on the all-time passing yards list. However, he is not far behind Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, who finished his career with 40,239 yards.