Falcons knock off Eagles on MNF with last-minute touchdown

The Atlanta Falcons earned their first win of the season in hard-fought battle in Philadelphia.

Falcons came from behind to win a 22-21 ‘Monday Night Football’ thriller over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Atlanta was down by six points with 1:39 left in the fourth quarter and Kirk Cousins engineered a game-winning 70-yard touchdown drive. Wide receiver Drake London caught the game-winning TD that had the Philadelphia crowd stunned.

The Eagles had a final opportunity to retake the lead late in the fourth quarter, but Jalen Hurts’ long pass intended for wide receiver DeVonta Smith was intercepted by Falcons safety Jessie Bates, which sealed the ballgame.

The back-and-forth game had six lead changes.

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Philadelphia had an opportunity to put the game away up 18-15 late in the fourth quarter. However, running back Saquon Barkley mishandled what would’ve been a first-down catch on third-and-3. The Eagles had to settle for a short field goal that left the window open for Atlanta with less than two minutes to play.

Cousins had 241 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson tallied 122 yards from scrimmage.

Hurts had 183 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, 85 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in the loss.

Falcons vs. Eagles highlights

Kirk Cousins led a late-game touchdown drive as the Falcons stunned the Eagles on ‘Monday Night Football.’ The Falcons trailed by six with no timeouts and 1:39 remaining, yet drove 70 yards in six plays in just 65 seconds for the winning score.

Falcons vs. Eagles final stats

Team stats:

Total yards: Falcons 385, Eagles 365
First downs: Falcons 22, Eagles 22
Third-down conversions: Eagles 6-13, Falcons 2-9
Red zone: Eagles 2-5, Falcons 1-3
Turnovers: Eagles 1, Falcons 0

Passing:

Kirk Cousins: 20-29, 241 yards, 2 touchdowns
Jalen Hurts: 23-30, 183 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception

Rushing:

Bijan Robinson: 14 carries, 97 yards
Saquon Barkley: 22 carries, 95 yards
Jalen Hurts, 13 carries, 85 yards, 1 touchdown
Tyler Allgeier, 9 carries, 53 yards

Receiving:

Darnell Mooney, 3 receptions, 88 yards, 1 touchdown
DeVonta Smith: 7 receptions, 76 yards, 1 touchdown
Drake London: 6 receptions, 54 yards, 1 touchdown
Ray-Ray McCloud: 3 receptions, 42 yards
Dallas Goedert: 3 receptions, 38 yards
Bijan Robinson: 4 receptions, 25 yards
Britain Covey: 6 receptions, 23 yards
Kyle Pitts: 3 receptions, 20 yards

Falcons vs. Eagles score

Falcons: 22
Eagles: 21

Second quarter

Falcons field goal (11:22) — Younghoe Koo, 39 yards

Eagles touchdown (5:15) — DeVonta Smith, 7-yard pass from Jalen Hurts (Jake Elliott extra point)

Falcons field goal (0:06) — Younghoe Koo, 22 yards

Third quarter

Falcons field goal (10:12) — Younghoe Koo, 34 yards

Eagles field goal (4:28) — Jake Elliott, 29 yards

Falcons touchdown (1:21) — Darnell Mooney, 41-yard pass from Kirk Cousins (two-point conversion attempt no good)

Fourth quarter

Eagles touchdown (6:47) — Jalen Hurts, 1-yard run (Saquon Barkley two-point conversion run)

Eagles field goal (1:39) — Jake Elliott, 28 yards

Falcons touchdown (0:34) — Drake London, 7-yard pass from Kirk Cousins (Younghoe Koo extra point)

Falcons seal victory with interception

Atlanta has stunned Philadelphia. 

The Eagles just needed a field goal to win, but when Jalen Hurts tried to find DeVonta Smith to get in field goal range, Jessie Bates sprung forward to intercept the ball and give a shocking win to Atlanta. — Jordan Mendoza

Falcons 22, Eagles 21: Falcons take last-minute lead

Atlanta has stormed back.

With no timeouts, the Falcons went 70-yards in just over a minute to take the lead with 34 seconds remaining. Kirk Cousins found Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the game.

After the touchdown, London was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, backing the extra point 15 yards and making it a 47-yard try. Younghoe Koo wasn’t fazed and drilled the extra point right down the middle to make it a 22-21 game. — Jordan Mendoza

Eagles 21, Falcons 15: Eagles add field goal after Saquon Barkley drops first down catch

The Eagles were so close to sealing a win.

On third down and the Falcons with no timeouts, Philadelphia ran a pass from Jalen Hurts to Saquon Barkley just like the touchdown catch earlier. However, Barkley couldn’t hold onto the catch and dropped it as he moved toward the first down marker. 

Falcons stuffed on fourth down

Atlanta went for a fourth down but C.J. Gardner-Johnson didn’t let it happen.

Eagles 18, Falcons 15: Philly regains lead after Tush Push TD

The lead changed for the fifth time after the Eagles went on a long 17-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that took nearly 10 minutes.

Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley led the way during Philadelphia’s go-ahead touchdown drive.

Hurts capped off the drive when he got in the end zone on the Eagles’ signature Tush Push from 1 yard out. Then Barkley ran up the middle for a successful two-point conversion to give Philadelphia a 18-15 lead with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter.

Falcons 15, Eagles 10: Darnell Mooney eludes defense for long TD

The Falcons picked a good time to score their first touchdown.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris made a gutsy call by going for it on fourth-and-4 from their own 47-yard line. Kirk Cousins tossed an 11-yard pass to WR Ray-Ray McCloud to keep the chains moving. On the ensuing play, Cousins threw a strike to WR Darnell Mooney running a skinny post. Mooney caught the ball, broke a tackle and ran it in for a 41-yard touchdown to give Atlanta a 15-10 lead with 1:21 left in the third quarter.

Eagles 10, Falcons 9: Philly retakes lead with field goal

Philadelphia again faced a fourth down inside the 10-yard line, but this time took the field goal and now lead 10-9.

Jalen Hurts hasn’t thrown the ball much, but his arm got the Eagles right down the field. He perfectly placed a ball to DeVonta Smith for a 19-yard catch in the best throw of the game. On a third and three, Hurts tried to find Smith again, this time in the end zone, and while his hands were on the ball, Atlanta’s Jessie Bates knocked it right out to prevent the touchdown.

Falcons 9, Eagles 7: Atlanta retakes lead

The Falcons opened up the second half with a nine-play, 54-yard field goal drive.

Running back Bijan Robinson had 37 yards from scrimmage during Atlanta’s scoring drive that ended in another Younghoe Koo field goal.

The Falcons now have a 9-7 lead with 10:12 on the clock in the third quarter.

Eagles 7, Falcons 6: Younghoe Koo adds another field goal before halftime

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo’s hit both his field goals in the first half.

Koo connected on a short 22-yard field goal after the Falcons failed to reach the end zone on third and goal at the end of the first half.

The field goal ended a 15-play, 82-yard drive for the Falcons. It was the team’s longest drive of the night.

Eagles 7, Falcons 3: Jalen Hurts shows off dual-threat ability on TD drive

Jalen Hurts led the Eagles on an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive midway through the second quarter to lift the team to a 7-3 lead.

Hurts had 46 rushing yards during the drive that ended in a 7-yard touchdown catch by wideout DeVonta Smith.

Falcons 3, Eagles 0: Younghoe Koo gets game’s first points

The Falcons scored the first points of the ballgame in the second quarter.

Atlanta went on an eight-play, 52-yard drive that ended with a successful 39-yard field goal by kicker Younghoe Koo to give the club a 3-0 lead at the 11:22 mark in the second period.

Eagles turn ball over on downs in red zone

The Eagles were 9 yards away from the end zone, but couldn’t punch it in.

Philadelphia’s promising 10-play, 55-yard drive ended when Jalen Hurts’ pass to tight end Dallas Goedert fell incomplete on fourth-and-4 from the 9-yard line with 4:38 on the clock in the first quarter.

Eagles fans not happy with first series

PHILADELPHIA — Time of first boo: 8:19 p.m. ET. 

Home cooking for Eagles

Bill Belichick sighting at Lincoln Financial Field

PHILADELPHIA — Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was seen roaming the sidelines before kickoff. Alongside him was his former protégé and former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia.

Belichick’s new role on Monday nights has been joining Peyton and Eli Manning on the ‘ManningCast’ as the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach navigates his first football season away from a NFL sidelines in five decades. — Chris Bumbaca

What time is Falcons vs. Eagles 

Falcons at Eagles will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Falcons vs. Eagles TV channel

TV channel: ESPN | ESPN2

ESPN again is the broadcast home of ‘Monday Night Football.’ The longtime team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (color) will be on the call, with Lisa Salters adding reports from the sideline.

Viewers can also tune to ESPN2 for the ‘ManningCast’ featuring Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as Bill Belichick.

Falcons vs. Eagles live stream

Live stream: ESPN+, Fubo TV

For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo TV. Fubo TV carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.

ESPN+, the proprietary streaming service of ESPN, will also carry the game.

Jason Kelce beefs up ESPN’s star power

PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce definitely qualifies as a “personality hire.” 

It’s why ESPN coveted his broadcasting services for the 2024 NFL season after all. 

“He kept asking ‘What do you expect from me? What do you want?’ And we’re like, ‘We just want you to be you,’” ESPN vice president of production, Seth Markman, told USA TODAY Sports.

Kelce joined the network’s “Monday Night Countdown” desk alongside host Scott Van Pelt and fellow analysts Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark. Every company that airs the NFL lined up meetings to convince the former Philadelphia Eagles center to join their shop because of his engaging personality.  — Chris Bumbaca

MNF theme song – ‘In The Air Tonight,’ performed by Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana

No NFL broadcast is complete without an opening theme song.

In September 2023, the league ruffled some feathers announcing the program’s new theme song performed by an unlikely trio: Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana, who recorded a cover of the 1981 Phil Collins classic ‘In The Air Tonight.’ — Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer

Falcons vs. Eagles inactives: A.J. Brown out (officially)

A hamstring injury is keeping Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown from playing against the Falcons on ‘Monday Night Football.’

Falcons’ inactive players:

RB Jase McClellan
CB Antonio Hamilton Sr.
DL Brandon Dorlus
OG Jovaughn Gwyn
OT Brandon Parker
DL Ruke Orhorhoro

Eagles’ inactive players:

QB Tanner McKee
WR A.J. Brown
CB Eli Ricks
LB Devin White
OL Darian Kinnard
OG Trevor Keegan
DT Byron Young

Falcons at Eagles: Predictions, picks and odds

The Eagles are favorites to defeat the Falcons, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024.

Spread: Eagles (-5.5)
Moneyline: Eagles (-250); Falcons (+200)
Over/under: 45.5

Jarrett Bell: Eagles
Chris Bumbaca: Eagles
Nate Davis: Eagles
Tyler Dragon: Eagles
Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz:  Eagles
Lorenzo Reyes:  Eagles

Eagles vs. Falcons series history

Monday night’s matchup is the 38th all-time matchup between the Eagles and Falcons, including playoff games.

The Eagles hold a 21-15-1 series edge — including a 3-1 record in postseason matchups — in a series that dates back to the Falcons’ inaugural season of 1966. For you NFL history buffs out there, the head coaches for that first Eagles-Falcons matchup were Joe Kuharich (Eagles) and Norb Hecker (Falcons), and the starting quarterbacks were Norm Snead (Eagles) and Randy Johnson (Falcons).

The biggest matchup between the two franchises occurred in the 2004 NFC championship game, a 27-10 Eagles win that ended a three-year losing streak in conference championship games. In the 2017 playoffs, the Eagles defeated the Falcons in the divisional playoffs en route to winning Super Bowl 52.

For those who enjoy testing their NFL wits with Pro Football Reference’s immaculate grids, there have been a number of notable players who played for both teams. Pro Football Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey played 10 years with the Falcons and then his final three NFL seasons with the Eagles, including as a member of the Philadelphia team that advanced to Super Bowl XV. Quarterback Michael Vick was the Falcons’ quarterback in that aforementioned 2004 NFC title game, but also started a playoff game for the Eagles during the 2010 season. Seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones played a decade in Atlanta, and had his final season (2023) in Philadelphia. — Jim Reineking

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Who is the highest-paid NFL player?

The NFL’s top 18 players in average annual salary are all quarterbacks, according to OverTheCap.com. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the league’s highest-paid player on the season’s opening Sunday, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the first non-quarterback on the highest-paid list after striking a four-year, $140 million contract extension this offseason. 

Complete list of the league’s highest-paid players

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Offensive tackles
Offensive guards
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