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Falcons game-winning drive: How Kirk Cousins, Drake London mounted last-minute comeback against Eagles | Sporting News United Kingdom

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Falcons game-winning drive: How Kirk Cousins, Drake London mounted last-minute comeback against Eagles | Sporting News United Kingdom

Six plays, 70 yards, 65 seconds. 

That’s all the Falcons needed to stun the Philadelphia crowd at Lincoln Financial Field and knock off the Eagles 22-21 on “Monday Night Football.”

Week 2 of the NFL slate ended in dramatic fashion. Atlanta went from having a 0.7 percent chance of winning the contest with 1:56 remaining in regulation to picking up the club’s first victory in the Kirk Cousins era. The veteran quarterback shook off his prime-time demons by helping the Falcons mount a comeback in the final two minutes of the game. 

“Today he went out and played important in the biggest moments, in the biggest times,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said of Cousins. “And those are the things you want to have happen when you get a chance to go out there and get wins. It was great to see with Kirk Cousins.”

In his second start as a member of the Falcons, Cousins completed 20 of his 29 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He capped it off by finding wide receiver Drake London in the end zone with 34 seconds left to tie the game, and an extra point from kicker Younghoe Koo gave Atlanta the lead. 

“Coming from behind. Finding a way on the road in a tough environment against a good football team,” Cousins said of the win. “That builds resolve, builds some grit, builds some character that we’re gonna have to lean on as the year goes on.

“This is how NFL football is. We’ve got to kind of get used to this and get comfortable in this because that’s how these games tend to go. The more we can be battle-tested and have these moments, I think it will set us up well for what’s coming down the road.”

How did Cousins and Co. do it? The Sporting News breaks down the final drive that led to the win. 

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Falcons game-winning drive

Atlanta appeared to be on the verge of falling to 0-2 on the season. Philadelphia had the ball with under two minutes to go and was up by three points. Facing a third down in the red zone, the Eagles elected to pass the ball, resulting in a drop by running back Saquon Barkley, stopping the clock and forcing a field goal. 

The Falcons got the ball back down by six points with 1:39 remaining and no timeouts, starting at their own 30-yard line. That’s all the Cousins and the offense needed, as the group carved up the Philadelphia defense with relative ease en route to the go-ahead touchdown. 

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Here’s a full breakdown of the final drive. 

Kirk Cousins 11-yard completion to Kyle Pitts

  • Time: 1:39
  • Down: First-and-10, Atlanta 30-yard line

Cousins started off the drive by finding tight end Kyle Pitts over the middle. Pitts caught the ball short of the first down marking, but dove over the 40-yard line to move the chains. 

Kirk Cousins 21-yard completion to Darnell Mooney

  • Time: 1:19
  • Down: First-and-10, Atlanta 41-yard line

Cousins then went to the outside and found Darnell Mooney in open space for a 21-yard completion. Mooney slipped as he was receiving the ball and was unable to get out of bounds, forcing the team to continue its hurry-up offense. However, the Falcons got into the Eagles’ side of the field on the play. 

Kirk Cousins 26-yard completion to Darnell Mooney

  • Time: 0:55
  • Down: First-and-10, Philadelphia 38-yard line

Cousins went right back to Mooney in roughly the same spot for another gain of over 20 yards. This time, the receiver broke a tackle and got out of bounds, stopping the clock with 48 seconds left and possession at the Philadelphia 12-yard line. 

Kirk Cousins 5-yard completion to Drake London

  • Time: 0:48
  • Down: First-and-10, Philadelphia 12-yard line

With nothing developing on the routes to the end zone, Cousins went underneath to wide receiver Drake London on the left side, gaining five yards and once again stopping the clock as he ran out of bounds. 

Kirk Cousins incompletion to Ray-Ray McCloud III

  • Time: 0:43
  • Down: Second-and-5, Philadelphia 7-yard line

The lone incompletion of the drive, Cousins attempted to hit wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III in the end zone but the play was broken up by Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox. There was quite a bit of contact, but no flag was thrown on the play. 

Kirk Cousins 7-yard touchdown to Drake London

  • Time: 0:34
  • Down: Third-and-5, Philadelphia 7-yard line

On the second attempt at the end zone, Cousins was successful. London cooked Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, faking a cut to the inside before juking outside, giving plenty of space for Cousins to find him for the score.

The extra point by Koo gave the Falcons the 22-21 lead, and the team would hold on after picking off Eagles QB Jalen Hurts to end the game. 

MORE: A.J. Brown expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury

Kirk Cousins prime-time record

Cousins entered the Monday night matchup with a history of struggles in prime-time matchups. He had a 12-20 record heading into the matchup with the Eagles and was well on his way to picking up his 21st loss before the last-second switch, giving him his 13th victory under the bright lights. 

Monday nights have been particularly unkind to the 36-year-old. While Cousins got the win against the Eagles in the Week 2 finale, he now sports a record of 4-10 on “Monday Night Football.”

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