The Falcons may have not felt like their clash with the Eagles on Monday night was a must-win game. It didn’t have that sort of feel to it — we’re just two games into the season after all. The Saints and Vikings are 2-0. The Ravens and Bengals are 0-2. Volatility reigns supreme to start the campaign.
The prospect of Atlanta dropping a second-straight game to open the year was a precarious one, however. Over the course of the past three seasons, 19 of the 21 teams that started the year 0-2 went on to miss the postseason. The Falcons, having recently invested $180 million and a first-round pick into their quarterback situation, certainly didn’t want to be on the wrong side of that sort of history.
Falcons vs. Eagles highlights Week 2
So, a win was crucial. Kirk Cousins, the aforementioned $180 million man, was tasked with leading them to it. The odds didn’t appear to be in his favor, as he’s less than a year removed from an Achilles tear, still adapting to a new offense, and isn’t getting any younger.
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Yet, somehow, Cousins did just what the masses said he couldn’t. Fueled by a late-game outburst, Atlanta slipped past NFC powerhouse Philadelphia in its home arena, 22-21.
Monday night’s outing didn’t represent a classic performance for Cousins, who still looks off the pace when compared to many of his quarterbacking contemporaries. He also has some work to do to turn his primetime fortunes around: Cousins is now 4-10 on “Monday Night Football,” although it’s worth noting each of his last four “MNF” appearances have ended with victories.
All told, when the game was on the line, Cousins was money. He might’ve cemented his spot in the starting lineup as a result.
With that, here’s a closer look at Cousins’ impressive run at Lincoln Financial Field.
MORE FALCONS-EAGLES:
How Eagles lost | Bijan Robinson stats | Peyton Manning reaction to Saquon Barkley drop
Kirk Cousins stats today vs. Eagles
- Completion rate: 68.9% (20-of-29)
- Passing yards: 241
- Passing TDs: 2
- Interceptions: 0
- Passer rating: 117.2
- Carries: 4
- Rushing yards: -1
- Rushing TD: 0
- Rush yards/att: -0.25
Cousins struggled mightily out the gates on Monday night. The 36-year-old couldn’t quite find a rhythm with the likes of Drake London and Kyle Pitts in the game’s first three quarters. Despite Bijan Robinson’s best efforts — the Falcons tailback racked up 122 yards of total offense on just 18 touches (14 rushes, four catches) — Atlanta found itself behind the eight-ball.
As the fourth quarter rolled on, however, Cousins began to hit his stride. His outburst started in earnest when he hit Darnell Mooney with a 41-yard strike to give the Falcons the lead at the end of the third frame. In the fourth, he continued his strong play, delivering another sumptuous toss to Mooney, one that appeared destined to land harmlessly into his grasp.
MORE: Falcons shock Eagles with last-minute comeback on ‘Monday Night Football’
There was just one problem, though: Mooney stopped running. The ball bounced off the turf. And Cousins was denied the big play he so richly desired.
A loss appeared all but inevitable, especially after Philadelphia — fueled by C.J. Johnson-Gardner’s crunching stop on fourth-and-one with 5:42 left — got the ball deep into enemy territory with less than two minutes left in the game. Atlanta, unable to call a timeout, looked resigned to losing a close game, particularly when Saquon Barkley raced out to the right side of the field and attempted to corral Jalen Hurts’ throw on third-and-three.
The ball slipped through his hands just as he attempted to turn upstream. The Eagles had to settle for a field goal, made all the more worse by the fact that the incompletion had stopped the clock. Cousins and the Falcons had a chance.
They swiftly capitalized, racing up the length of the field in about a minute. Cousins, who had looked so out of his depth a quarter before, rifled efforts left-and-right, hitting London, Mooney, and Pitts to set up third-and-five at Philadelphia’s seven-yard line.
With the clock dwindling and Cousins seeking a first fourth-quarter comeback since 2022, the pressure was on. Cousins was undeterred, instead firing a shot into London, who had the end zone all to himself after displacing Darius Slay with a perfectly timed double move.
All of that amounted to as second-half showing unlike any other:
Entering into Monday night’s game, Cousins revealed to ESPN’s Troy Aikman that “he’s not 100 percent, but he feels 100 percent in the pocket.”
He might’ve not been fully fit for Monday night’s affair, but if performances like Monday night’s can come more frequently, does it really matter?
Kirk Cousins highlights vs. Eagles
Cousins saved his best for last against the Eagles. In the third quarter, he tossed one of his best passes to Mooney, placing the ball on a platter for the WR to record his first TD since Week 1 last year.
He added to his theatrics on the game’s final drive. Cousins hit London, Pitts, and Mooney over the course of the 70-yard endeavor. His final throw — a seven-yard arrow to London — may have not been the most impressive throw Cousins made on Monday night. It was his most important, though, securing his first win since trading the Great Lakes for the ATL in the offseason.
Monday night didn’t represent a perfect performance for Cousins. It didn’t necessarily have to be, though. And the result — a gleaming W, the sort that can propel a team up the ladder, particularly in a division as uncertain as the NFC South — will more than make up for it.