PHILADELPHIA – Oh, so that’s what Atlanta expected from the $180 million wasted on Kirk Cousins.
It was certainly not a shaky performance like the 36-year-old veteran’s opening game, which, given the loss, raised doubts as to whether the quarterback would be able to return to his old form after tearing his Achilles tendon.
Cousins calmed fears down the stretch, making all the crucial shots in Philadelphia that his counterpart Jalen Hurts failed to make – and sending the Falcons home with a win.
Cousins led a flawless last-minute trip for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown With 34 seconds left, the Falcons secured a 22-21 victory over the Eagles on Monday night.
“He was a key player in the most important moments of the most important times,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Those are things you want to happen when you have a chance to go out there and win. It was great to see that from Kirk Cousins today.”
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left, forcing the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-winning first down. That was enough time for Cousins – especially against an Eagles defense that played weak coverage and had no pass rush.
Cousins, playing in his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon on Oct. 29 of last year for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and blew passes of 21 and 26 yards to Darnell Mooney on two consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London with a short pass to the right and he rolled over Darius Slay for the equalizer. Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) ahead with a 48-yard extra point after London received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The opening goal took just 65 seconds.
“We bought just enough time for the guys to go down, march and score the game-winning touchdown,” Morris said.
Cousins made 5 of 6 sixes for 70 yards on the final drive.
“That’s how a great season goes,” Cousins said. “When you have those games that can go either way, you find a way to make it work in your favor. That’s just the way this league is, and if we can find those inches, it can really change the course of the season.”
Hurts had his last pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III sealed Atlanta’s victory and sparked a wild celebration on the sidelines.
The Eagles (1-1) took the lead with 6:47 left on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score. Barkley finished his home debut for Philadelphia with 95 yards on 22 carries, but his drop gave the Falcons some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the quarterback Atlanta expected when it signed him for four years and $180 million.
Cousins completed 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yard pass from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
All critical moves until the last drive.
“Obviously when you’re down six points you can put everything on the line, but we just tried to take what they gave us and work our way down the field,” Cousins said. “And we were able to get some chunks that basically got us down enough that the clock wasn’t really our enemy.”
Hurts completed 23 of 30 passes for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With starting receiver AJ Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yard kick with 1:39 left put the team up 21-15.
Atlanta continued to hesitate in the red zone, scoring three field goals by Koo before Cousins threw over the middle to Mooney, who broke free of CJ Gardner-Johnson and left him sprawled on the turf before somersaulting into the end zone for a 15-10 lead with 1:21 left in the third quarter. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts was full of energy during a second-quarter touchdown run, running with abandon for big plays, much like he did in the 2022 season. In a rare, raw display of emotion, he threw the ball into thin air on a 23-yard run and incurred a delay of game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and ran 9 and 15 yards to put the Eagles within Atlanta’s 19.
Comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper were among the fans cheering on the Eagles when Hurts scored a 7-yard touchdown to Smith in the back of the end zone to make the game 7-3.
Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last of which was enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter.
“They made a few more plays than we did at the end. We made some plays, they made more,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “And that’s on all of us. It starts with the coaching and goes all the way down to the players. We’re all responsible for the loss.”
Instead of getting a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ gamble on fourth-and-4 at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter backfired when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yard pass with 4:31 minutes left in the third quarter to give the team a 10-9 lead.
Bijan Robinson ran 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stopped him just before fourth and one at Atlanta’s 39-yard line.
Barkley was quiet until the decisive drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the game’s opening drive ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he made two consecutive 9-yard runs early in the second drive. Barkley had rushed for 40 yards in the first half.
Former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as honorary captain and encouraged the crowd to chant “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quadriceps).
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
The Eagles play in New Orleans on Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
