Falcons vs. Eagles highlights: Kirk Cousins leads last-minute ...
Updated Sept. 17, 2024, 3:51 AM UTC
Kirk Cousins led a last-minute touchdown drive, and the Atlanta Falcons stunned the Philadelphia Eagles with a 22-21 come-from-behind win Monday.
The Falcons were trailing 18-15 and starting a drive from their own 30-yard line with no timeouts and only one minute and 39 seconds remaining. But Cousins efficiently marched the team down the field in six plays and 65 seconds, finding Drake London for the go-ahead touchdown with under 40 seconds to go.
The Eagles couldn’t answer, as quarterback Jalen Hurts was intercepted on the team’s final drive.
"Sometimes the easiest ones are the hardest ones," London said of the game-winning play after the game on ESPN. "Once I made my move and I was open, just catch the ball and secure it."
The frantic finish came after a throwback game. Both teams were more comfortable with their rushing attacks before Atlanta opened things up on its last touchdown drive. Philadelphia ran for 186 yards on 37 carries, while the Falcons ran for 152 yards on 28 rushing attempts.
The Eagles were controlling the clock and in position to ice the game late in the fourth.
Facing a third-and-3 from the Atlanta 10-yard line, running back Saquon Barkley dropped a pass that most likely would have been good for a first down. Had he converted, Philadelphia could have knelt the ball to run out the clock. Instead, on fourth down, the Eagles opted for a field goal, which opened the door for the go-ahead drive.
"I dropped the ball," Barkley told reporters after the game. "I let my team down today."
Cousins finished the game completing 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards and two scores, a marked improvement from his Falcons debut in Week 1. Hurts was 23-of-30 for 183 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 85 yards and a score.
The Falcons' signal-caller said despite the win, he's "got to be better."
"I didn't feel like I was sharp enough today, not accurate enough," Cousins said on ESPN. "But that last drive hopefully will give us a boost going into next week. We can build on that."
Philadelphia fell to 1-1 with the loss and will face the New Orleans Saints and their potent offense in Week 3.
Atlanta improved to 1-1 with the victory. The Falcons will next play the Kansas City Chiefs on "Sunday Night Football."
With a pass rusher in his face, Jalen Hurts tried to find Devonta Smith deep but he was picked off by Jessie Bates III.
That’s it! That’s the game! The Falcons win 22-21 thanks to a last-minute touchdown drive by Kirk Cousins.
What a finish.
Whoa! Where was this all game???
The Falcons lead 22-21 as Kirk Cousins just led a heroic go-ahead drive. Taking over with one minute and 39 seconds to go, Cousins marched Atlanta down the field in just over a minute — with no timeouts! — for the go-ahead score.
Philly has 34 seconds and two timeouts left to try to win the game.
The Eagles lead 21-15 after nearly icing the game.
Saquon Barkley dropped a pass on 3rd-and-3 that would’ve given Philly a first down and effectively ended the game because the Falcons have no timeouts.
Instead, Philly kicked, and Atlanta will have one more possession with a little over a minute to go.
Let’s see what Kirk Cousins can do!
Facing a 4th-and-1 from their own 39 and trailing by 3, the Falcons went for it but were stuffed. Bijan Robinson was corralled at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
The Eagles will take over in Atlanta territory leading 18-15.
A 17-play, 70-yard drive that took over nine minutes off the clock results in an Eagles touchdown.
Jalen Hurts put the capper on the possession with a touchdown run via the Tush Push. Saquon Barkley converted the two-point attempt to put Philadelphia up 18-15.
It was methodical work by the Philly offense, which slowly marched down the field through short passes and bruising runs. The Eagles now have the lead with under seven minutes to go in the fourth.
The Eagles have the ball, but it’s the Falcons who have the lead after three quarters.
Atlanta is up 15-10 after the Darnell Mooney touchdown late in the third. The game has been on the sleepy side so far, and both teams have been leaning on their rushing attack.
Let’s see if they open things up in the fourth.
And it was a good one!
Kirk Cousins found Darnell Mooney streaking down the middle of the field for a 42-yard catch-and-score.
Atlanta went for two but couldn’t convert. The Falcons now lead 15-10.
The Eagles came quite close to their second touchdown, but a third-down pass to Devonta Smith was broken up in the end zone, and Philly kicked a field goal on the next play.
Smith had his hands around the ball in the end zone, but it was punched out by Falcons safety Jessie Bates III. On 4th-and-3 on the Atlanta 11, the Eagles opted to kick instead of go for it.
Philadelphia now leads 10-9.
Once again the Falcons drove deep into Eagles territory. Once again they had to settle for three points.
Kirk Cousins was sacked on 3rd-and-4 from inside the Philly 10. That ended a drive that had been gashing the Eagles on the ground.
Atlanta now leads 9-7.
Not a ton of offense in the first half.
The Falcons have more yards and a slightly better yards per play average, but haven’t been able to find the end zone.
The Eagles have been running the ball well, and Jalen Hurts has done a good job when escaping the pocket. Philly has only one touchdown, though, as one of its best drives ended after a failed fourth-down attempt from inside the Atlanta 10.
The Falcons will receive to start the second half.
Atlanta almost put together the perfect end-of-half drive. Almost.
The Falcons drove 82 yards in 15 plays and held the ball for over five minutes, but couldn’t score a touchdown from inside Philly’s 5-yard-line. A Bijan Robinson run went nowhere on first down before two incomplete passes led to 4th-and-goal.
Atlanta settled for three points instead. The Eagles still lead 7-6.
Jalen Hurts ran for 47 yards on the Eagles’ first touchdown drive, including an 18-yard scamper on fourth down.
Hurts is now up to 52 yards on five carries in the game, and he’s looking a lot like the 2022 version of Jalen Hurts that took Philly to the Super Bowl. He was limited as a runner last season, averaging fewer carries per game and fewer yards per carry compared to the year before.
If Hurts can stay this comfortable taking off on his own...the Eagles’ offense becomes much more of a threat.
After a long drive that included a fourth-down conversion, the Eagles are on the board. Jalen Hurts found Devonta Smith for a touchdown on 3rd-and-goal to give Philly a 7-3 lead. The score capped off an 11-play drive.
After failing to pick up a 3rd-and-9 from the 22-yard line, the Falcons kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. At least we finally have points!
Bit of a snoozer so far.
The Eagles threatened to score on one drive, but failed to convert a fourth down inside the Falcons’ 10-yard-line.
Other than that, not too much offense in this one. Jalen Hurts and Kirk Cousins have combined for only 59 yards passing. Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson have combined to run for 73, though.
After driving deep into Atlanta territory on their second drive, the Eagles punted on their third after only three plays. Not a lot of offense so far!
After a couple nice runs by second-year running back Bijan Robinson, the Falcons threw it on third-and-four from their own 31-yard line. Kirk Cousins threw left towards the sideline towards Drake London and was nearly intercepted by rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
Atlanta punted and Philadelphia will start the drive on their 25-yard line.
Falcons 0, Eagles 0.
The Eagles go for it on 4th-and-4 on the Atlanta 9-yard-line but can’t convert!
Jalen Hurts scrambled right before his pass to Dallas Goedert was ultimately broken up in the end zone.
After picking up a first down on the ground, the Falcons’ first drive hit a bump in the road near their own 30. Kirk Cousins completed only one of his three pass attempts...but at least he didn’t turn the ball over?
After one first down on their opening drive, the Eagles punted after failing to convert a 3rd-and-9. The Falcons will start their first possession inside their own 10.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce will be on your television tonight — just not in the game for the Eagles.
Kelce — brother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis — will be in the Monday Night Football booth during the third quarter. The 36-year-old played his entire 13-year career with the Eagles, so he should have some unique insight on the team.
ESPN’s Troy Aikman revealed Kelce would be joining himself and Joe Back earlier Monday.
A common criticism of the Falcons’ previous head coach Arthur Smith was his inconsistent use of tight end Kyle Pitts.
The fourth overall pick in 2021, Pitts had over 1,000 yards receiving his rookie season — but only one touchdown. In the last two seasons, Pitts has only 81 catches for 1,023 yards and five touchdowns across 27 games.
Those hoping for a fresh start with new head coach Raheem Morris were left disappointed in Week 1. Pitts had only three catches for 26 yards, though he did score.
Perhaps this is the breakout game for Pitts. There’s precedent — sort of. After a slow start in Week 1, Arizona Cardinals rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. came on strong in the team’s second game. Maybe Pitts — who is also playing with a new offensive coordinator and new quarterback than last season — could be in line for a similar performance.
Turnovers were an issue for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in Week 1.
Hurts turned the ball over three times — a fumble and two interceptions. Philadelphia was lucky to escape with a win despite the miscues, but it’s difficult to win when you’re behind in the turnover margin.
One area to keep an eye on is the center-quarterback exchange. Hurts mishandled two snaps against the Green Bay Packers, once under center and once in the shotgun when the snap was early. This is the first year Hurts is playing without center Jason Kelce, who retired in the offseason.
The Eagles' starting QB has arrived for tonight's matchup with the Falcons.
With star WR A.J. Brown out with an injury, one player who could benefit is Jahan Dotson. A first-round selection by Washington in 2022, Dotson was traded to Philadelphia earlier this offseason for a draft pick.
He has a real opportunity to shine Monday against the Falcons as a complement to wideout DeVonta Smith.
Dotson, in his third season in the league, has 1,041 yards and 11 scores in his career.
"If my opportunities do come, I'm going to take full advantage of them," he told reporters this week. "That's what I was pretty much brought here to do. Take advantage of every single opportunity that's given to me."
Reuben FrankCovers the Eagles for NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Superstar receiver A.J. Brown will miss the Eagles’ home opener Monday night vs. the Falcons, the Eagles announced in an updated injury report.
Brown, who suffered a hamstring injury in practice on Friday, sat out practice on Saturday and was initially listed as questionable. But the Eagles downgraded him on Sunday, which means he’ll miss a regular-season game for the first time since he joined the Eagles in 2022.
Brown, who had five catches for 119 yards in the opener vs. the Packers, has the 3rd-most receiving yards in the NFL since opening day 2022 with 3,071, trailing only Tyreek Hill (3,663) and CeeDee Lamb (3,169).
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract to leave Minnesota for Atlanta in the offseason. He's supposed to be the QB to lead them to a possible Super Bowl. But after one week, questions have risen.
Cousins was 16 for 26 passing for 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against Pittsburgh. His QB Rating was just 35.8.
With first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. waiting in the wings, he needs to figure it out soon or else there might be a true competition coming.
Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson — a breakout candidate to be among the best rushers in the league this season — managed just 68 yards on the ground and 48 in the air in Week 1 with zero scores.
The powerful and shifty Robinson could have better luck against an Eagles defensive line that surrendered 163 yards on the ground against the Green Bay Packers.
Philadelphia's prized offseason acquisition, running back Saquon Barkley, was dominant in his Eagles debut in Week 1. He scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and had 132 total yards on the night.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said he was impressed with the performance.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said it was "exciting to watch him play. I’m happy that he’s on our side.”
Atlanta gave up 137 yards on the ground to the Steelers in Week 1.
Rohan Nadkarni
Rohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News.
