I don’t know about you, but I spent most of last night thinking it wasn’t really Atlanta’s night.

Kirk Cousins ​​certainly looked more comfortable than he did in Week 1 (and too many snaps from under center), but I’d be remiss if I didn’t specifically acknowledge how beautiful his game-winning drive was. I had some concerns that the Falcons scored too early and gave Philly too much time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but Jessie Bates certainly took care of that with his game-sealing pick.

Game Notes

• The Falcons’ defense forced a turnover on downs in the first quarter and managed to stop their opponent in the red zone on fourth down for two consecutive weeks to kick off the 2024 season.
• Jessie Bates’s deciding shot came with just nine seconds left on the clock.
• The Falcons defense has gone 13 consecutive drives without allowing a touchdown to start the 2024 season.
• Kirk Cousins ​​went 20 of 29 for 241 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He recorded just one sack in the game.
• With his two touchdowns, Cousins ​​tied for 19th place all-time with 273 touchdown passes, tied with Joe Montana.
• Cousins ​​now leads the NFL in completions since 2015, with 3,261. With last night’s game, he surpassed Derek Carr (3,258) for the first place.
• According to Tru Media, Cousins ​​has thrown five game-winning touchdown passes in the final minute of regulation since 2015, the second-most in the NFL during that span.
• RB Bijan Robinson recorded 122 yards from scrimmage, 97 rushing yards and 25 receiving. Robinson now has eight career games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage, including three in a row dating to Week 18 of the 2023 season against the New Orleans Saints.
• Robinson is the first Atlanta running back to have 100 or more scrimmage yards in each of the first two games of the season since Michael Turner in 2011.
• Robinson’s three-game streak with 100 yards from scrimmage is tied with Texans WR Nico Collins for the longest streak among active players.
• Robinson recorded 72 rushing yards in the first half, matching his career-high first-half rushing yards.
• Robinson finished with a rushing average of 6.9 yards per carry, the second-best of his career.
• WR Drake London caught his seventh career touchdown to give the Falcons the lead with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He finished with six receptions for 54 yards and one touchdown.
• WR Darnell Mooney had three catches for 88 yards and a touchdown reception of 42 yards, the third-longest touchdown reception of his career. Mooney finished with a career-best receiving average of 29.3 yards per reception.
• In his 100th career appearance, OLB Matthew Judon recorded his first complete sack as a Falcon, along with six tackles (three solo), including two for loss. Judon has recorded at least one sack in his last four MNF games.
• ILB Troy Anderson finished with eight tackles (four solo), his third-highest total solo tackles of his career.
• S Jessie Bates III led the team in tackles (12) and sealed the win with an interception with 19 seconds left. It was Bates’ 21st career interception and his seventh interception in the fourth quarter.
• ILB Kaden Elliss finished with 11 tackles (six of which were solo), which is his second-highest total.
• K Younghoe Koo went 3-for-3 on field goals, with a 39-yard field goal with 11:22 left in the second quarter, a 22-yard field goal with six seconds left in the second quarter and a 34-yard field goal. Koo also scored an extra-point attempt on the final touchdown.

Post-match quotes

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris:

On Cousins’ performance:

“You know, it’s really what you expect. And you know, it’s a process in this league. It’s really a process in this league, and that’s the process you go through. You’re not always going to play as well as you want to play. And today he continued to play the big, big moments at the biggest times. Those are the things you want to happen when you get a chance to go out and win. It was great to see today with Kirk Cousins.”

When asked if he saw Kirk’s confidence before that final touchdown drive:

“You know, I didn’t. Because I know what that confidence looks like from practice. I know what that confidence looks like from walking down the hall every day. I know what that confidence looks like from his process every day and learning and going out there and being his very best self. I didn’t have to look at him during that ride. The team let him know, his guys. We looked at each other before the game and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to do it for each other.’ And that’s exactly what they did.”

On Jessie Bates’ decisive save:

“You’ve got to give (S) Jessie (Bates III) a lot of credit. You’ve got to give everybody a lot of credit. The Eagles are a great offense. They can move the ball a lot of different ways, different styles, and Jesse going out there and making those plays for us is a big deal. That’s the reason he’s here. That’s the reason our owners went out there and put all the money into it, and what we’re doing, defense and offense and everything. And it’s really been able to put us in position to go out there and win football games. And he’s just a big part of that.”

On the impact a big win like Monday’s can have on the team’s confidence:

“I’m sure we’ll find out. Right? You get a chance every week to get on the field and play the game, and you’ve got to get these guys ready for the next guy, right? I said it last week, you can’t let Pittsburgh beat you twice, and I’m going to say it this week. You can’t let this get in the way and get in the way of what you’re trying to do the next week. You’ve got a short week ahead of you and we’ve got to get right back at it.”

On why he held a football on stage:

“I got a game ball, Tori (McElhaney of AtlantaFalcons.com). The guys gave it to me. And you know, I’ve gotten a lot of game balls in my life. This one is really special because of that team, because of the people that work in our building that you really know, and the guys that we do it for. When you’re talking about Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot, you’re talking about Falcons president Greg Beadles, you’re talking about Falcons CEO Rich McKay, you’re talking about Falcons owner Arthur Blank, you’re talking about AMBSE vice president of executive strategy Josh Blank, you’re talking about Max Blank, you’re talking about all the guys that are in those rooms with us doing all the things that we want to do, all of our limited partners that are here today, all of those guys. It’s special in our building. We want to make this a special place for ourselves. Everybody except (VP of media relations) David Bassity. Juking is your specialty.”

(BTW: Morris enjoys joking around with Bassity. He’s having fun here and not being a dick.)

On whether the final drive was planned or improvised by OC Zac Robinson:

“You know, we went to a two-minute drive. You know, when you practice the two-minute situation a lot, we get into our two-minute offense. And we had a couple of openings in their defense. And you know, QB Kirk Cousins ​​threw a bunch and Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson shut it down. You know, you have to give credit where credit is due. He called an outstanding game. I wish we could have had a couple of those touchdown drives back where they turned it down by three. But anyway, you know, he went out there and scored in his prime, he was at his best when his best was needed.

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins:

Opening Statement:

“I’ll start off and answer any questions you have. It was really important for us to come out here and win. We had to do it no matter what, and like so many NFL games, it really came down to the last drive. I’m just proud of the way we kept playing, kept fighting, leaned on each other. It was really a team win. It took special teams, it took defense, it took offense, it took all phases of football within all the different parts of our team to come out and win. I’m proud of the way we played, proud of the way we found a way to win, and we can build on that. I think it’s going to build some character and determination in our group, and I’m really looking forward to building on that going forward. We’ve got a short week against a really good opponent, and that’s the way the NFL is.”

On the offense’s confidence during their final drive:

“We protected well. Guys were really good at knowing their routes and making plays. With our coverage structures, you kind of wanted to see, ‘Okay, how are they going to play this?’ They’re obviously willing to give up some yards, they just can’t give up that last touchdown. So it felt like the first throw was pretty contested, but then there were a couple where it felt like they were going to let us throw things under or over the field as long as we didn’t go over their heads. And then as we got closer, I was like, ‘Okay, now the coverage’s going to tighten up.’ That’s where it was so important that (Falcons WR) Drake (London) could win the front cone because we were tightening up, where it was going to be tight throws.”

More about the last ride:

“Well, when you’re down by six points, there’s not a lot you try to hold on to, you know, when you’re playing with a tie, you know, maybe you have to be more aware of the negative plays that can give the team the ball back in good field position. But when you’re down by six points, you can definitely, you know, give it your all, but we just tried to take what they gave us and work our way down the field. And we were able to get some plays that basically got us there, low enough where the clock wasn’t really our enemy, and we did a good job of getting guys to the sideline and getting them out of bounds, but still had to make that play, you know, in tight coverage at the end. That’s what I was so proud of in Drake for the route he ran, the way he separated himself, made it easy for me.”

About the running game:

“They did a great job running the ball. I thought (Falcons OC) Zac (Robinson) did a great job committing to running the ball, and (Falcons RB) Bijan (Robinson) and (Falcons RB) Tyler (Allgeier) ran hard. The O-line did a great job of blocking, handling pressure. Our receivers do a great job of blocking the run game, and the tight ends do a great job of blocking. So I was happy with that. I think it gave us a great opportunity to be successful down the stretch, and then we didn’t have the penalties. You know, when you have a holding or something that gets you to 2nd and 20, it’s tough to run the ball, but when you stay on, you know, 2nd and 3, you know, Zac has this whole call sheet in front of him, so staying out of the penalty, staying out of the longer yardage gives us the opportunity to run the ball.”

What is special about this victory:

“Coming from behind, finding our way on the road in a tough environment against a good football team, it builds some grit, it builds some determination, it builds some character that we’re going to have to lean on as the year goes on. And that’s NFL football, you know, and so we’ve got to get used to it a little bit and get comfortable with it because that’s usually how these games go and so the more we get tested and have those moments, I think it really prepares us for what’s coming.”