Cousins Breaks Monday Night Curse in Falcons Comeback

Kirk Cousins #18 of the Atlanta Falcons warms up prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 16, 2024. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Kirk Cousins’ prior Monday Night Football struggles ran through the airwaves before the Atlanta Falcons’s Week 2 tilt with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He didn’t let the story end the way it had 10 of 13 previous times on Monday, as he led a 22-21 comeback win over the heavily favored Eagles.

Cousins engineered a game-winning drive in the final minute on 5-6 passing 70 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver Drake London.

Despite his fourth career Monday night win and second game back from an Achilles injury, Cousins wasn’t satisfied afterward.

“I didn’t feel like I was sharp enough today, accurate enough,” Cousins told ESPN after the game. “I’ve got to be better, but that last drive can hopefully give us a boost going into next week. We can build on that.”

Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million free agent deal with the Falcons in March, bounced back from an uninspiring Week 1 performance.

He completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 155 yards and a touchdown versus two interceptions against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an 18-10 loss. Cousins finished with 241 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks against the Eagles, as he completed 69 percent of his passes.

“You know, there’s a lot of new, and it takes time. I was pleased with the way we finished tonight, but there’s still so much to be better,” Cousins added.

Cousins left the Minnesota Vikings after a six-year run with the team where he reached the playoffs twice and went 1-2 in the postseason.

Minnesota saw Cousins as the missing star to lead the team to the Super Bowl after an NFC Championship meltdown in Philadelphia before his arrival in 2018.

Now, Atlanta will look for Cousins to do what he couldn’t achieve in Minnesota. The Falcons have acquired quality skill players in London, running back Bijan Robinson, and tight end Kyle Pitts in recent years.

Atlanta also bolstered its defense recently with the addition of linebacker Matthew Judon before Week 1.

The Falcons defense showed some of its capabilities on Monday in front of a national audience. Atlanta kept Eagles running back Saquon Barkley out of the end zone and limited a potent offense to 21 points. Falcons safety Jessie Bates III capped the performance with an interception to end the game.

Atlanta then celebrated as if it was a Super Bowl win, with champagne flying in the locker room as the team surrounded head coach Raheem Morris. He showed his pride over the win as he held the game ball during the press conference.

“This one’s really special,” Morris told reporters.

Morris took the head coaching job in Atlanta this year after three seasons as a defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, where he won a Super Bowl in the 2021 season. He painfully knows Atlanta’s postseason history as a former member of the coaching staff with the Falcons team that blew a 28-3 lead in the 2016 Super Bowl.

“I didn’t come here to beat the Philadelphia Eagles,” Morris said. “I was brought here to try to put us in a position to win championships, and that’s what we want to do.”

Whether or not Cousins and Morris can team up to take the Falcons to New Orleans in February is a long way off, and Morris said as much afterward.

The Falcons have a challenging division for starters in the NFC South where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints are both off to hot starts at 2-0.

Atlanta first gets another primetime test with the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) on Sunday Night Football in Week 3.

“You can’t ride the emotional rollercoaster. They’re all the same. We’ll go out next week and attack our process and get right back to it,” Morris said.

“Any change you get to go line up in between those lines, it’s full go, and that’s what they did today. I’m so proud of them.”