atlanta sports tagged interest

Keep your prime-time Kirk Cousins jokes in Minnesota, as the veteran quarterback won his first game with the Atlanta Falcons, 22-21, over the Philadelphia Eagles on "Monday Night Football" in an absolute thriller.

After Bijan Robinson was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 with 5:42 remaining in the fourth quarter with the Falcons down three points, the Eagles made the critical mistake of throwing the ball on a third-and-3 while trying to milk clock. Saquon Barkley dropped the easy catch, and the Eagles had to settle for a field goal to extend the lead to six.

Cousins and Co. took over at their own 30-yard line with 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter and zero timeouts to utilize. Thanks to two huge catches from Darnell Mooney that went for a total of 47 yards, the Falcons found themselves in the red zone rather quickly. On a third-and-5 at the Eagles 7-yard line, Cousins hit Drake London for the game-winning score.

The Eagles had 34 seconds to work the ball into field goal territory, but Jalen Hurts threw an interception to safety Jessie Bates III while trying to push the ball down the field. It was an absolutely incredible collapse by the Eagles.

Despite the loss, Hurts had a nice performance. The star quarterback completed 23 of 30 passes for 183 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was incredibly effective on the ground, rushing 13 times for 85 yards and another touchdown. Barkley didn't find the end zone in his first home game as an Eagle, but did rack up 116 yards from scrimmage.

For the Falcons, Cousins completed 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson showed why he's one the league's emerging stars at running back, rushing for 97 yards on 14 carries and catching four passes for 25 yards. The veteran Bates was a star of the game, as he recorded 12 total tackles, one tackle for loss, two passes defensed and the game-clinching interception.

This was a back-and-forth affair that set the stage for the best finish we've seen so far in this young season. Let's take a look at what happened:

Why the Falcons won

Cousins is now 4-1 on "Monday Night Football" after starting his "MNF" career 0-9. While the game felt over to some, he stepped up to the plate with 1:39 left in the fourth quarter and showed the NFL world why Atlanta gave him all that money. Cousins completed 5 of 6 passes for 70 yards on that game-winning drive, and hit London for the score that shocked Lincoln Financial Field. Previously, the Falcons had scored just one touchdown all game while going 0-2 in the red zone. But, this unit stepped up big when it mattered.

Cousins now has nine game-winning drives since 2022, which is tied for most in the NFL with Geno Smith in that span. He's no stranger to incredible comebacks, as Cousins set an NFL-record with a 33-point comeback against Jeff Saturday's Indianapolis Colts during his time with the Vikings, and a 24-point comeback win during his time in Washington -- where he coined the phrase "You like that!"

Why the Eagles lost/turning point

After C.J. Gardner-Johnson made quite the epic stop on fourth-and-1 with 5:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Eagles were going to win this game. The offense took over at the Falcons 39-yard line and started to milk clock. The Eagles converted one third down, and then the two-minute warning hit. That's when Raheem Morris made the decision to utilize his three timeouts.

After Barkley picked up a total of seven yards on first and second down, the Eagles decided to throw the ball to their dual-threat back. It was seemingly an easy catch that would have sealed an Eagles victory. Instead, Barkley couldn't reel it in.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni had to settle for a Jake Elliott 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to six points, but that left 1:39 on the clock for the Falcons.

Why did the Eagles not run it on third down? Why not call their treasured "tush push" on two consecutive plays? The Eagles defense should have found a way to apply pressure on Cousins during that final drive, and the defensive backs obviously could have done better with their assignments. But the bottom line is that the Eagles wouldn't even have been in that situation if they handled their business regarding clock management.

Drive of the game

What's next

The Falcons get another chance in prime time this week, as they return to Atlanta to host Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on "Sunday Night Football." As for the Eagles, they hit the road to take on the undefeated New Orleans Saints on Sunday.