Cousins throws for 509 yards, hits Hodge in OT to give Falcons 36-30 win over Bucs

ATLANTA (AP) — Kirk Cousins sure earned all that money Thursday night.

The $180 million quarterback threw for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns, the last of them a 45-yard scoring pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime that gave the Atlanta Falcons an improbable 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“What a night,” Cousins said. “I'm exhausted.”

After a wild fourth quarter that featured a blocked field goal, a fumble and an interception, Cousins and the Falcons (3-2) got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:14 remaining in regulation and no timeouts, trailing 30-27.

Cousins completed five passes to push Atlanta to the Buccaneers 29, then hustled to the line to spike the ball with a single second left. In all the confusion, the Falcons were called for delay of game as they lined up for a tying field goal, but it didn't cost them.

Even with the five-yard penalty, Younghoe Koo knocked it through from 52 yards to force overtime, one week after he made a 58-yarder with 2 seconds left to beat the New Orleans Saints.

“I'm proud of the grit,” Cousins said. “In this league, that’s what it takes. We were gritty tonight.”

The Falcons won the coin toss in overtime and made sure Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (3-2) didn't get their hands on the ball again.

Cousins connected with Drake London on a couple of passes before throwing a short one to Hodge, who broke a tackle at the 40, sliced through a gap in the secondary and raced untouched to the end zone to end the game.

The four TD passes tied Cousins' career best, while his yardage through the air easily eclipsed his previous high of 460 with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.

“The guys played hard,” coach Raheem Morris said. “They played to the end.”

After signing his big free agent deal with the Falcons, which included $100 million in guaranteed money, Cousins got off to sluggish start in Atlanta.

But he heard nothing but cheers on a night when the Falcons inducted longtime starting quarterback Matt Ryan into their Ring of Honor. The 36-year-old Cousins even swayed to the rap hit “Swag Surfin” during the postgame celebration, firmly establishing his chops in the A-T-L.

With Matty Ice cheering him on, Cousins broke Ryan's team record for passing yards in a game (503) with one of the most prolific performances in NFL history. Only 14 quarterbacks have thrown for more yards in a game, led by Norm Van Brocklin's mark of 554 yards that has stood since 1951.

“Outstanding,” Morris said in a succinct but fitting assessment of Cousins' performance.

Mayfield threw three touchdown passes, including a pair to Mike Evans, and Chase McLaughlin booted three field goals. The last of them was a 53-yarder that put the Buccaneers ahead 30-27 with 10:23 remaining.

Mayfield felt like he let this one slip away.

“All I care about is wins,” he said. “I've got to find a way to finish that game out on offense.”

The Falcons tied it with a gutty fourth-down call by Morris early in the fourth quarter.

After Tyler Allgeier was thrown for a 2-yard loss on third-and-2, the Falcons didn’t even consider a field goal from the Bucs 12.

Atlanta lined right back up and Cousins threw a pass to Darnell Mooney, who made the grab at the marker but wasn’t content with just a first down. He shook off a tackler and scooted to the end zone.

Mooney also had a 24-yard touchdown catch during a back-and-forth first half that ended with the Buccaneers up 24-17.

Both offenses ran up and down the field, combining for 488 yards, 28 first downs and just one punt over the first two quarters.

Cousins had an 18-yard touchdown pass to London, who finished with 12 catches for 154 yards. Mooney had nine receptions for 105.

“I spread it around and the players made plays,” Cousins said. “I'm grateful for the progress we've made. We're getting better and better each week.”

Koo missed his first field goal of the year from 41 yards and had another attempt blocked, but he also connected from 54 and 48 yards before splitting the uprights with the tying kick.

Buccaneers: S Tykee Smith returned to the game after being evaluated for a possible head injury. ... LB Lavonte David hobbled to the sideline after taking a cut block from Falcons G Chris Lindstrom, but only missed a couple of plays. ... S Jordan Whitehead walked off slowly early in the fourth quarter with a groin injury.

Falcons: CB Dee Alford left the game in the first half with a concussion. ... London also took a blow to the head, but he was cleared to return before halftime. ... LB Troy Andersen, the NFC defensive player of the week, did not suit up because of a knee injury.

Buccaneers: Travel to New Orleans for an NFC South game against the Saints (2-2) on Oct. 13.

Falcons: Hit the road for the first time since Week 2 when they travel up I-85 to face the division rival Carolina Panthers (1-3) on Oct. 13.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) reacts as he is sacked by Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle David Onyemata (90) during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) celebrates after throwing a game-wining touchdown pass to wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during overtime in an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) loses the football as he is sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Logan Hall (90) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Logan Hall (90) sacks Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) shakes hands with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield after the Falcons defeated the Buccaneers during overtime in an NFL football game Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge (12) celebrates with running back Bijan Robinson (7) after Hodge scored the game-wining touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during overtime in an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge (12) scores the game-wining touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during overtime in an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) celebrates with the fans after the team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during overtime in an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons place kicker Younghoe Koo (6) celebrates his field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) scrambles away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (50) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins throws a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) celebrates with quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) after scoring against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (35) breaks up a pass intended for Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1) makes a touchdown reception between Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum (27) and safety Christian Izien (29) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan reacts as he is inducted in the Falcons' Ring of Honor during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Logan Hall (90) reacts after sacking Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1) reacts after his score against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead (3) breaks up a pass intended for Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) works in the pocket against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris celebrates with wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge (12) after scoring against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during overtime in an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Dozens of South Korean adoptees, many in tears, have responded to an investigation led by The Associated Press and documented by Frontline (PBS) last week on Korean adoptions. The investigation reported dubious child-gathering practices and fraudulent paperwork involving South Korea’s foreign adoption program, which peaked in the 1970s and `80s amid huge Western demands for babies.

Here are some of the problems adoptees who responded say they faced, along with tips for finding histories and birth families.

Kyla Postrel's paperwork tells two different stories, neither of which she’s sure is true.

After a DNA test last year, Postrel found a half-brother who was also adopted to the West. Comparing their paperwork made her even more skeptical of the stories they’d been told. But part of her is reluctant to keep looking "for something that may or may not exist and could be absolutely devastating.”

She has been flooded with messages from other adoptees looking for help, and tells them not to be disappointed if they can't track down their stories.

“I just don’t want any adoptees feeling like their life is a lie," she says. "Their life is everything that they’ve built since then.”

If her birth mother is still out there, Postrel would want her to know her daughter has had a good life.

Cody Duet, adopted to rural Louisiana in 1986, requested his full file a decade ago. He got back less than one page, saying his mother was a young factory worker, his father was unknown and there was nothing more they were required to give him.

“It was probably one of the most angry moments in my life," Duet says. "Who are you to tell me that I don’t get to know who I am?”

He fell into a depression and couldn’t sleep. He struggled with abandonment, like he was easy to get rid of, easy not to love. But now, he wonders, was that story even true?

The AP investigation found that children were systemically listed as abandoned, even though researchers have found that the vast majority had known relatives.

Now Duet wants to resume his search. He wants to find his mother, to tell her he’s reached a point in his life that he’s proud of.

Amy McFadden always believed what the adoption agency told her parents — that she was abandoned on a staircase at 5 weeks old.

Adopted to the United States in 1975, she’d heard stories about fraudulent adoptions, but always thought of them as one-off problems that had nothing to do with her. She’s grateful for her American life and close to her adoptive parents, and never felt the longing so many other adoptees do to reconnect with their roots.

But when she found out from the AP stories that mothers in South Korea have searched for their missing children for decades, she says, she was in shock for three days. Waves of nausea radiated over her.

She wants to submit her DNA, in case a family has been looking for her.

For Callie Chamberlain, waiting for word on whether her birth parents wanted to connect felt like standing on the edge of a cliff.

Her original documents said her mother was young, unmarried and uneducated, she says. Her full files from the South Korean agency contained a different story: Her mother was married and she was born of an affair. DNA testing showed both stories were untrue, and identified her mother and father as married both back then and now.

When they connected, her mother said she’d nearly died giving birth. The family was poor. Disoriented from labor and medications, her mother said she only vaguely remembered hospital staff insisting she was very sick and the child deserved a better home. The baby disappeared the next day. She lived with that shame for years, and the entire family searched for Chamberlain.

They have now invited her — and her adoptive family — with open arms. But Chamberlain has met many without such happy endings, and feels a sort of survivor's guilt. She also questions the belief that reunions will answer all questions and make you whole.

“There is so much grief and there’s so much sorrow," she says. "There’s this sense of death. And then there’s also so much that gets to be born. It’s an ancestral sorrow that I can feel sometimes, like this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

She has learned of a Korean cultural concept called “han,” an existential and endless grief, born from colonization, war, poverty and the line that cleaves Korea into North and South, splitting families for generations. “That’s something we experience too,” she said. “We are Koreans."

Here are some steps Korean adoptees could take to learn more about their past:

Adoptees can first request information from their adoption agencies. If they don't get results from agencies, they can contact the South Korean government's National Center for the Rights of the Child as a second step.

Birth searches can take months and aren’t always successful. Less than a fifth of 15,000 adoptees who have asked the government for help with family searches since 2012 have managed to reunite with relatives, according to data obtained by AP. Failures are often caused by inaccurate records or the practice of describing children as abandoned even when they had known parents.

Many adoptees also criticize the consent process for reunions. Adoption agencies and the NCRC can only use traditional mail, and only up to three times, to contact birth parents for their consent to provide personal details to adoptees and meet them. Privacy laws prevent agency and NCRC workers from accessing birth parents’ phone numbers. Still, the Korean-language adoption documents kept by South Korean agencies often have more background information than translated files sent to Western adoptive parents.

When they fail to locate birth parents, NCRC may recommend that adoptees register their DNA with South Korean police or diplomatic offices, or help them publish their stories in South Korean media.

Frustrated with search failures and unreliable records, many Korean adoptees in recent years have attempted to reconnect with their birth families through DNA. Adoptees can register their DNA with a South Korean embassy or consulate in the country where they live. They can also register their DNA with a local police station if they travel to South Korea.

DNA testing isn’t common in South Korea, and the process usually depends on whether the birth family had also been trying to find the adoptee through DNA. Once collected at diplomatic or police offices, adoptees’ genetic information is cross-checked with South Korea’s national DNA database for missing persons. When there is a match, the NCRC takes steps to arrange a reunion.

Some adoptees have also found birth relatives through commercial DNA tests popular in the West. The nonprofit group 325 Kamra helps South Korean adoptees and birth families reunite through DNA, by allowing adoptees to upload their commercial test results to a database or providing test kits.

There are various Facebook groups — some open, others closed for adoptees only — where adoptees talk about their lives and interactions with adoption agencies.

One of the most active pages is run by Banet, a volunteer group named after the Korean word for newborn baby clothing. The group helps adoptees search for birth families, connects them with government and police, and provides translation during meetings with Korean relatives.

Some websites are tailored to adoptees sharing the same agency, such as Paperslip, which helps adoptees placed through Korea Social Service with birth family searches and adoption document requests.

The Seoul-based nonprofit Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link assists adoptees with birth family searches as well as language education, social events and obtaining visas for employment in South Korea. KoRoot, another Seoul-based civic group, also helps adoptees searching for their families and backgrounds and runs advocacy programs.

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This story is part of an ongoing investigation led by The Associated Press in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS). The investigation includes an interactive and documentary, South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning. Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

Nicole Motta, whose Korean name is Jang Hyeon-jung, fills out paperwork for a DNA test at the Eastern Social Welfare Society in Seoul, Friday, May 31, 2024, as she and her birth father are reunited for the first time since she was adopted by a family in Alabama, United States, in 1985. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A city worker posts a flier on the crowded bulletin board of a government office in Bucheon, South Korea, Thursday, May 30, 2024. The flier, featuring two photos of Nicole Motta, an adoptee now residing in Los Angeles, taken as a toddler and an adult, was provided by the Global Overseas Adoptees' Link as part of Motta's search for her birth family. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Photos of adoptees participating at the Overseas Korean Adoptees Gathering are displayed on a large screen during the conference in Seoul Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In this photo provided by Kyla Postrel, she stands with her half-brother, Robert Milburn, at his wedding in Norfolk, Va., in April 2024. She found him through a DNA test and their first in-person meeting was one day before his wedding. (Courtesy Kyla Postrel via AP)

Yooree Kim, who was sent to a couple in France by the Holt adoption agency when she was 11, displays some old photos of her and her brother in her apartment in Seoul, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)