The Eagles‘ first drive of the game resulted in boos from the Philadelphia home crowd. After a promising ensuing four quarters, the final scoreboard also elicited boos.
Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons pulled off a stunner on Monday Night Football, coming back late to beat the Eagles 22-21 to avoid an 0-2 start.
Philadelphia had been in prime position to see out the clock late in the fourth, but opted for a pass play that may have been punished by the football gods for being too greedy. Cousins, with Atlanta down 21-15, led a drive that took just under a minute to end in a Drake London touchdown.
With 26 seconds to go, Hurts’ attempted deep ball went off target and into the hands of star safety Jessie Bates III that left Lincoln Financial Field in silence.
Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers:
WINNER: Kirk Cousins, Falcons
Cousins seemed destined to fall into the loser category, but he turned it around all within one drive. After a lackluster three and three-fourths of the fourth quarters, Cousins ended the game with 241 passing yards, two touchdowns and no picks on 20 of 29 completions.
The 36-year-old looked rusty all game after a shaky Week 1 off the back of zero preseason action, but all that rust seemed to dissipate when he needed to lock in.
Darnell Mooney, who caught a 41-yard catch and score earlier in the game, proved decisive in the final drive alongside London.
Atlanta will need this version of Cousins in Week 3 when it hosts Patrick Mahomes the Kansas City Chiefs.
LOSER: Jalen Hurts, Eagles
How quickly one can go from the hero to zero. Hurts was destined to be a winner following a solid dual-threat outing, but now he drops into the opposite category. That’s just how the nature of the game works sometimes.
Hurts was far from the issue. He threw for 183 yards, one touchdown and one pick on 23 of 30 completions, while looking like the 2022 version of himself on the ground, rushing for 85 yards on 13 carries with a tush-push touchdown.
But all that matters is the end result, and two plays late in the contest did not go Hurts’ way. Nick Sirianni should be just at fault for not keeping things simple prior to Cousins’ game-winning drive.
WINNER: Bijan Robinson, Falcons
Robinson, unlike the previous two sections, was going to be a winner regardless. The second-year running back got whatever he wanted on the night, even if it didn’t result in any touchdowns. He ran for 97 yards on 14 carries, good for a nice average of 6.9. He also caught four passes for 25 yards. His burst and agility just couldn’t be contained by Philadelphia.
Tyler Allgeier also put in a strong shift, rushing for 53 yards on nine attempts for an average of 5.9. Philadelphia will need to fix its run defense as soon as possible.
LOSER: Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Barkley was on the path to two straight robust performances as Philadelphia moved to 2-0. That all changed with one play. Late in the fourth quarter on a third and short, Hurts threw to Barkley on a wide-open flat route that would’ve resulted in a first down to ice the game. But Barkley astonishingly dropped it, leading to Cousins’ ensuing drive.
The drop marked Barkley’s 16th since 2021, the most among running backs in that span. He had 21 receiving yards on four catches and rushed for 95 yards on 22 attempts (4.3 average). However, the NFL world will primarily remember the drop that eventually cost Philly the game.
WINNER: Jessie Bates III, Falcons
Bates III had a monstrous outing in Atlanta’s secondary. He led all players with 12 total tackles, with seven solo. That included one tackle for loss. He also recorded two passes defended, one of them being a touchdown saver when DeVonta Smith nearly hauled in Hurts’ pass late in the third.
Smith should’ve held on, but it was just superior defending by the 27-year-old to knock out the ball cleanly without pass-interference contact.
Bates III then later had the aforementioned interception on Hurts to seal the result.
