Kirk Cousins needed a big moment on Monday night. So did the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons’ offense had just two touchdowns for the season when Cousins took over with 1:39 left in the game, needing a touchdown and having to go 70 yards to get it for the win. Suddenly Cousins came alive.
Cousins moved the team quickly downfield. Cousins completed 5-of-6 passes on a quick drive and hit Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left. The extra point was harder after London got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but Younghoe Koo hit it and the Falcons led 22-21. Jalen Hurts threw an interception under pressure after that and the game was over.
The Eagles were in position to win. But on a third-and-3, Saquon Barkley dropped a wide-open pass that would have resulted in either a touchdown or a first down that would have ended the game. That drop allowed Cousins to have his first big moment for the Falcons.
Up until that point, the Falcons had to be a little worried about their $180 million quarterback and where the season was headed. All he has heard through his career is that he’s not clutch and that he shrinks in prime time. Then he came up with a drive that might change the trajectory of the early portion of Atlanta’s season.
Not much scoring on Monday night
Neither team was sharp early on. The Eagles moved in a bit in the first quarter, but on fourth-and-4 from the Falcons’ 9-yard line Philadelphia passed on a field-goal try, went for it and threw incomplete. The Falcons didn’t move it much, but at least Cousins was lining up under center unlike Week 1. Last week the Falcons were almost exclusively in pistol and shotgun, and the it seemed like the offensive play-calling was limited because Cousins couldn’t move.
In the second quarter the Eagles finally got it going a little bit on offense. The two big plays came when, somehow, the Falcons defense let Hurts run and he picked up conversions on fourth-and-3 and third-and-11. DeVonta Smith got a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone and with 5:15 left in the second quarter the game had its first touchdown.
The Falcons had a good drive late in the first half. But it stalled inside the 5-yard line. On third down Cousins threw it away to avoid taking a sack, because the Falcons had no timeouts left and wouldn’t have had time to get the field goal team on. At that point everything seemed to be difficult for the Falcons’ offense. Cousins missed some potentially big plays because he either wasn’t seeing things well or was slow to react. Cousins had just 75 yards passing in the first half and Atlanta didn’t get in the end zone before halftime.
The Eagles led 7-6 at halftime and a Monday night audience was unimpressed. Through six quarters, the Falcons had just one touchdown. There wasn’t much hope that it would suddenly click when it mattered most.
Teams trade the lead in the 2nd half
Finally there was a breakthrough for the Falcons offense in the second half. Darnell Mooney got past Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the empty middle of the field, Cousins saw him and hit him. Mooney shook free of Gardner-Johnson near the goal line and scored a 42-yard touchdown. That gave the Falcons a 15-10 lead.
For an offense that had labored to do practically everything since the season started, seeing Mooney get free for a touchdown was a momentous occasion. And it gave Atlanta the lead.
The Eagles responded. They went on an 85-yard drive that chewed up 9:34 of the clock. It looked like Barkley scored, but to the chagrin of some fantasy football managers sweating out Monday night’s game, Barkley was ruled down at the half-yard line. Hurts scored on a tush push the next play and the Eagles were back in front. Barkley barely got in on the 2-point conversion and the Eagles led 18-15.
The Falcons then seemed to waste their best chance to win the game. They got the ball back with 6:47 left and couldn’t pick up a first down. London ran a route short of the sticks on third-and-10 and then Bijan Robinson was crushed behind the line by Gardner-Johnson for a huge stop and a loss of possession.
The Eagles were able to pick up some first downs after that and run down the clock. But the big drop by Barkley on third down stopped the clock at 1:42, giving the Falcons yet another chance to win. After an Eagles field goal, Cousins had one more chance to drive his team 70 yards for a touchdown and the win.
To that point the Falcons and Cousins hadn’t done much. But he came up with a surgical drive to win it. That’s what the Falcons paid $180 million for.