Falcons save best for last in Monday night rally at Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — Kirk Cousins exorcised his Monday Night Football demons and got the Atlanta Falcons their crucial first win of the season in one drive.

Down six and with 1:39 remaining, Cousins took the Falcons 80 yards and found wide receiver Drake London for a 7-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 34 seconds left. Atlanta escaped Lincoln Financial Field with a 22-21 victory in Week 2. Cousins moved to 4-10 on Monday nights and has won four of his last five MNF games.

Cousins was 20-of-29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson had 97 yards on 14 carries and 122 yards total from scrimmage. The Eagles had gone ahead with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jalen Hurts with 6:47 left.

Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:

Promising trend: Bijan Robinson was a focal point of the team’s offense, which was a criticism of the Falcons’ playcalling in 2023. The second-year running back became the first Falcons running back to have 100 or more yards from scrimmage in each of the team’s first two games of a season since Michael Turner in 2011.

Eye-popping stat: Cousins has 51 pass touchdowns against the blitz over the last five seasons, which is tied for the most in the NFL during that period with Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes is third with 47. That’s a glimpse at what the Falcons could have if Cousins returns to pre-injury form.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Falcons secondary provided good enough coverage and the pass rush had its moments, but Hurts was able to improvise and create big plays with his feet. Atlanta had no answer for him, and it resulted in Hurts converting two big fourth downs, three crucial third downs with his legs and a touchdown run. — Marc Raimondi

Next game: vs. Kansas City Chiefs (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 22)

Life without receiver A.J. Brown can be a slog. The Eagles were reminded of that during Monday night’s slugfest against the Falcons as Brown sat out with a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for a couple of games.

Still, it seemed they had done enough to muscle past the Falcons — and then the wheels came off. Atlanta mounted a lightning-quick six-play, 70-yard drive in 1:05 to stun the capacity Lincoln Financial Field crowd and drop the Eagles to 1-1.

The road gets tougher from here. They play at the red-hot New Orleans Saints and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before a Week 5 bye.

Adversity has hit this team early. Following a 1-6 collapse down the stretch last season, all eyes will be on whether they are able to pick up the pieces following a gut-punch of a loss.

Describe the game in two words: Brutal loss. The win was in the Eagles’ hands before Atlanta ripped it away with a six-play, 70-yard drive in the closing moments. A last-ditch effort by the Eagles offense ended in a Hurts interception.

Troubling trend: The Eagles edge rushers struggled to put heat on the quarterback for a second straight week. Much of the focus will be on Bryce Huff, the former Jet who signed a three-year, $51 million deal in free agency to help offset the eventual departure of Haason Reddick. He has zero pressures through two games.

Eye-popping stat: Kirk Cousins was pressured on just 2-of-14 dropbacks (14%) in the first half, the lowest rate he’s faced in any half since Week 1 of 2023. — Tim McManus

Next game: at New Orleans Saints (1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 22)