PHILADELPHIA — Kirk Cousins exorcised his “Monday Night Football” demons and led the Atlanta Falcons to their first significant win of the season in one drive.
Trailing by six with 1:39 left, Cousins drove the Falcons 70 yards and hit wide receiver Drake London for a 7-yard go-ahead touchdown with 34 seconds left. Atlanta escaped with a 22-21 win at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 2. Cousins is now 4-10 in Monday night games and has won four of his past five Monday night games.
Cousins completed 20 of 29 attempts for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson rushed 14 times for 97 yards and 122 total yards from scrimmage. The Eagles took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jalen Hurts with 6:47 left in the game.
Here’s what’s most important for both teams on Monday night.
For much of the eighth quarter, it looked like the Falcons needed to find a solution on offense.
The team struggled offensively for the second straight week, but the addition of quarterback Kirk Cousins was meant to be a big asset, but Cousins has yet to find his groove after missing most of the 2023 season with a torn right Achilles tendon, and despite a potent rushing attack, Atlanta couldn’t score on third downs or in the red zone.
In the final seconds of the game, Cousins led his team 70 yards and connected with wide receiver Drake London for a game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds left. It didn’t erase Atlanta’s disparate offensive performance in the first two games, but it was at least enough to put a notch in the winning tally.
The Falcons really needed a win against the Eagles, and things could be dicey in the coming weeks, especially considering how the team has played so far. Atlanta will host the dynasty Kansas City Chiefs in primetime next week. And after that? The Falcons will host the arch-rival New Orleans Saints, then face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both teams are Atlanta’s NFC South division rivals and are currently undefeated.
Cousins and the Falcons should expect last-minute drives to be the rule rather than the exception. This is the NFL, and things happen fast and slow.
Promising trends: Bijan Robinson was the centerpiece of a team offense that has been the target of criticism of the Falcons’ play calling in 2023. The second-year running back became the first Falcons running back since Michael Turner in 2011 to gain more than 100 scrimmage yards in each of the first two games of a season.
Surprising stats: Cousins has thrown 51 touchdown passes on blitzes over the past five seasons, which is tied with Josh Allen for most in the NFL over that span. Patrick Mahomes is third with 47. It’s a glimpse into what the Falcons could be like if Cousins returns to his pre-injury form.
Biggest holes in your game plan: The Falcons defense did a good job in coverage and had some impressive pass rushing, but Hurts was able to improvise and make some big plays with his legs. Atlanta had no way to counter him, and he converted two big fourth downs, three crucial third downs and even used his legs to score a touchdown. — Marc Raimondi
Next match: vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, September 22, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Life without receiver AJ Brown could be tough, and the Eagles got a reminder of that during Monday night’s clash with the Falcons when Brown is expected to miss multiple games with a hamstring injury.
Still, they looked like they had enough to brute force their way past the Falcons, then fizzled out. Atlanta mounted an incredible six-play, 70-yard drive in 1 minute, 5 seconds to stun a capacity crowd at Lincoln Financial Field and put the Eagles at 1-1.
The road gets tough from here, as they face the on-the-ball New Orleans Saints and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the Week 5 break.
Adversity hit this team early, and attention will be focused on whether the Eagles can bounce back from a tough loss after going 6-1 late in last season.
Describe this game in two words: A brutal loss. The Eagles looked certain to win until Atlanta completed a six-play, 70-yard drive in the final seconds of the game. The Eagles’ final offensive effort ended with an interception by Hurts.
Key plays: Trailing by three with under two minutes left, the Eagles faced a third-down, three-yard situation deep in Atlanta’s half. Hurts threw a pass to Saquon Barkley in the flat, but Barkley dropped it, forcing Philadelphia to settle for a field goal. A few minutes later, the Falcons began their game-winning drive.
Worrying trends: The Eagles’ edge rushers were unable to pressure the quarterback for the second straight week, and all eyes will be on former Jets guard Bryce Huff, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract in free agency to replace Hason Reddick, who hasn’t had any pressure through two games.
Surprising stats: Kirk Cousins was pressured on just two of his 14 dropbacks (14%) in the first half, which was his lowest rate of pressure in a first half since Week 1 of 2023. — Tim McManus
Next match: vs. New Orleans Saints (Sunday, September 22, 1 p.m. ET)
