PHILADELPHIA – Oh, so this was what Atlanta expected out of $180 million lavished on Kirk Cousins.
Certainly not a shaky effort like the 36-year-old veteran had in the opener, raising concerns in the loss about the quarterback's return to form from a torn Achilles tendon.
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Cousins calmed fears down the stretch and made all the clutch throws in Philadelphia his counterpart Jalen Hurts could not — and sent the Falcons home winners.
Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Eagles on Monday night.
“He went out and played important in the biggest moments in the biggest times,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Those are things you want to have happen when you have a chance to go out there and get wins. It was great to see today with Kirk Cousins.”
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
Cousins, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right and he torched Darius Slay for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
“We saved just enough time for those guys to go down and march down and get that game-winning touchdown,” Morris said.
Cousins was 5 of 6 six for 70 yards on the final drive.
“That's how you put together a great season,” Cousins said. “When you have these games that could go either way, you find a way to have it break your way. That’s the way this league is and so when we can find those inches, it can really change the tale of the season.”
Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts' 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
All critical plays leading up to the final drive.
“When you’re down six, you can certainly, go for broke, but we just tried to take what they gave us and move our way down the field,” Cousins said. “And we were able to get some chunks that basically got us down there, low enough where the clock wasn’t really our enemy.”
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter.
“They made a couple more plays than we did down the stretch. We made some plays; they made more,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “And that’s on all of us. That starts with coaching and goes to the players. We are all responsible for the loss.”
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
The Eagles play at New Orleans on Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl