Kirk Cousins needed a big moment on Monday night, and the Atlanta Falcons had it.
The Falcons’ offense had scored just two touchdowns on the season when Cousins took over with 1:39 left, needed a goal and had to travel 70 yards to get it in order to win. Suddenly, Cousins was alive.
Cousins quickly moved the team forward. Cousins completed 5-of-6 passes in a quick attack and hit Drake London for a 7-yard field goal with 34 seconds left. The extra point was more difficult after London was given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Young-Ho Koo made it and the Falcons led 22-21. Jalen Hurts threw an interception under pressure afterward and the game was over.
The Eagles were in position to win. But on a third-and-3 attempt, Saquon Barkley dropped an open pass that would have either led to a score or a first down that would have ended the game. The drop allowed Cousins his first big moment with the Falcons.
Up until that point, the Falcons had been a little concerned about their $180 million quarterback and the course of the season. All they had heard throughout his career was that he wasn’t a special player and that he was shrinking in prime time. Then they came up with a plan that could change the course of Atlanta’s early season.
He didn’t score many goals on Monday night.
Neither team was sharp early in the game. The Eagles moved a bit in the first quarter, but on the fourth attempt from the Falcons’ nine-yard line, Philadelphia passed on a field goal attempt, went for it and threw the ball incomplete. The Falcons didn’t move the ball much, but at least Cousins was lined up at the center, unlike Week 1. Last week, the Falcons were almost exclusively pistol- and shotgun-based, and offensive play-calling seemed limited because Cousins couldn’t move.
In the second quarter, the Eagles finally got their act together on offense. The two big plays came when the Falcons defense somehow allowed Hurts to run, converting on fourth-and-3 and third-and-11 attempts. Devonta Smith caught a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone, and with 5:15 left in the second quarter, the game scored its first touchdown. Philly led 7-3.
The Falcons had a good offense late in the first half. But it stalled inside the five-yard line. On the third attempt, Cousins threw the ball away to avoid being downed because the Falcons had no timeout remaining and didn’t have enough time to get the field goal team onto the field. At that point, everything seemed to be rough for the Falcons offense. Cousins missed some potentially important plays because he either couldn’t see things well or was slow to react. Cousins had just 75 yards of passing in the first half and Atlanta didn’t reach the end zone before halftime.
The Eagles led 7-6 at halftime, and the crowd that attended the game on Monday night was not happy with the result. Through six quarters, the Falcons scored just one touchdown. There was little hope that the team would suddenly pull off a win when the time came.
The two teams exchanged the lead in the second half.
Finally, the Falcons’ offense was able to break through the defense in the second half. Eagles’ Darnell Mooney got past C.J. Gardner-Johnson to an empty halffield, where Cousins saw him and threw the ball to him. Mooney got rid of Gardner-Johnson near the goal line and scored from 42 yards out. That gave the Falcons a 15-10 lead.
For an attack that has worked hard to do almost everything since the start of the season, seeing Mooney break free for a goal was a momentous event. It gave Atlanta the lead.
The Eagles responded. They went on an 85-yard drive that took 9:34. It looked like Barkley had scored, but to the chagrin of some fantasy football managers sweating for Monday night’s game, Barkley was ruled out of the half-yard line. Hurts scored on the next play, and the Eagles got back in the lead. Barkley barely made two two-point conversions, and the Eagles led 18-15.
Then it looked like the Falcons had blown their best chance to win the game. They got the ball back with 6:47 left and couldn’t get a first down. London ran just wide of the crossbars on the third attempt from 10 yards out and then Bijan Robinson was hit hard behind the goal line by Gardner Johnson, causing him to stop badly and lose possession.
The Eagles were able to get some early points after that and cut the clock back. But a big drop by Barkley on the third attempt stopped the clock at 1:42, giving the Falcons another chance to win. After an Eagles field goal to give them a 21-25 lead, Cousins had another chance to lead his team 70 yards for a score and the win.
Up until that point, the Falcons and Cousins hadn’t accomplished much. But he had come up with a surgical plan to win a title. And that’s what the Falcons paid $180 million for.
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