The Atlanta Falcons had high expectations coming into the 2024 season despite years of futility. Those expectations fell flat on Week 1 in a bizarre showing against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Atlanta gave a glimpse of who they can become this season with a win against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Kirk Cousins showed that maybe the Falcons were “a quarterback away” when he marched the Falcons down the field for the game winner in the two-minute drill. The game was closed by Atlanta’s best defensive player when All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III intercepted Jalen Hurts’s ill-advised pass.

The Eagles were No. 4 in NFL.com’s Week 1 Power Rankings, while the Falcons were No. 23. How much did Atlanta’s impressive-road win against an NFC powerhouse affect the Week 2 rankings?

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Turns out – not much.

The Falcons climbed three spots to No. 20, while the Eagles dipped two places from No. 4 to No. 6.

“After Saquon Barkley dropped what would have been the game-clinching pass on Monday night, the door was left open for Kirk Cousins to author a game-winning touchdown drive that was absolutely stunning — both in its efficiency and in the fact that the Falcons have a quarterback capable of doing this again,” wrote Eric Edholm on NFL.com. “Cousins lined up under center more often against Philly, which looked more natural, but early in the game, the 36-year-old’s deeper passes were dying on him. Even a few completions were badly underthrown.

“However, Atlanta’s offensive line looked good early, paving the way for a wicked run game and keeping Cousins’ pocket mostly clean. You certainly can point the finger at the Eagles for coughing this one up after it looked over more than once, but you also have to credit Cousins and some clutch plays from Darnell Mooney, Drake London and Ray-Ray McCloud III. This was the biggest win for the Falcons in a few years.”

It’s not hyperbole to think this was the biggest win for the Falcons in several years. Last year’s Week 7 win in Tampa Bay to push the Falcons to 4-3 might be close. Arthur Smith got himself fired by dropping the next three to quarterbacks making their first appearance of the season (or their careers).

The 2024 team has talent and expectations, something the squad has lacked in recent years. Now they have some momentum. NFL.com’s Power Rankings, and ESPN’s for that matter, blame the Eagles for losing the game, while not giving credit to the Falcons for winning it.

The Eagles were without A.J. Brown and had more than one head-scratching coaching decisions. The Falcons still had to go out and make the plays. This isn’t the finished product for Atlanta by a long shot. Kirk Cousins made his second start since his Achilles injury, with a new team, with a play caller in his second-career game.

This is an offense under Cousins in its infancy. They’ll need to grow up fast to reach the heights expected of them in 2024. However, they didn’t just take baby steps on Monday night against the Eagles, they took a giant leap forward.

The wins will come, and so will the national respect.

PHILADELPHIA – PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles looked like they were about to move to 2-0, but a dropped pass by Saquon Barkley that likely would have given the Eagles a first down and allowed them to run out the clock was deadly.

They had to settle for a field goal and the Atlanta Falcons motored 70 yards in six plays and without any timeouts in just 1:05, getting a 7-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Drake London with 34 seconds to play. The TD stood up as the final points as the Falcons stunned the Eagles, 22-21 in their home opener on Monday night.

“I dropped the ball, “said Barkley. “I let my team down. We shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. I make that catch, the game’s over.”

London beat veteran Darius Slay for the winning score.

“Very disappointed, especially at myself at the end of the game,” said Slay. “(Shoot). I hurt with that one. That was for sure my fault. My eyes were in the backfield, and I was trying to do more than I should have been doing.

“They did a lot of things out of their tendencies with that route. I saw two people go in, and usually the tendency is everybody flowing that way, so I jumped inside too fast and had my eyes in the backfield. That was bad. Then he broke out, so it was, yeah, I (messed) that up bad. That play for sure right there is on me.”

The Eagles’ last-ditch comeback try after the Falcons (1-1) forged ahead ended with Jalen Hurts throwing an interception deep to Jessie Bates.

This loss will sting. It leaves the Eagles at 1-1 and in a three-way tie for first in the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders. Philly must travel to New Orleans to play the high-flying Saints on a short week next Sunday. The Eagles aren’t at home again until Oct. 11 against the Cleveland Browns.

The Eagles got a big play from safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson when he stood up Bijan Robinson on fourth-and-one at Philly’s 39. The play helped the Eagles run the clock down 1:39 as Jake Elliott kick a 28-yard field goal for a 21-15 lead.

“It’s do or die,” said Gardner-Johnson. “It’s him versus me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the ultimate (play) to win the game. Like I said, there are other things in this game that we gotta look at, and we gotta fix as a team from the offensive side, the defensive side and special teams side.

“We can’t dial in on one thing. Everyone wants to look at one play, and this and that. We’re a team, and things happen. We gotta focus up. I got my brothers’ back just like they got my back.”

The Eagles tried to ice the game when they reached the 10, but on a third-and-three throw to a wide-open Barkley in the flat, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week flat-out dropped the ball. It looked like he would have had a first down if not a touchdown.

The game would have ended either way.

Instead, the Falcons took advantage of their new life and stole a win.

The Eagles were behind 15-10 when they embarked on the drive of the season so far, moving 70 yards in 17 plays and consuming 9:34 of clock.

They had converted only one third down all night in six tries, but on this march, they went 3-for-4 and 1-for-1 on a successful tush push. Jalen Hurts finished it with the second successful tush push of the drive after a 5-yard TD pass to Saquon Barkley was overturned when it was ruled Barkley knee was down a half-yard short. The touchdown gave the Eagles an 18-15 lead with 6:47 to play.

Hurts finished with 85 yards rushing, his highest ground total since putting up 82 in a 20-17 loss to the Seahawks on Dec. 18 last year. Playing without his top weapon, A.J. Brown, he was 23-for-30 with 183 yards and a 7-yard TD to DeVonta Smith. His late-game interception was his third of the season and his passer rating was 88.6.

Barkley had 22 carries for 85 yards with four receptions for 21 yards.

It was the second week the Eagles lost the turnover battle. They turned it over once and didn’t get one from the Falcons.

Cousins was 20-for-29 with 241 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 117.2. Running back Bijan Robinson had 14 carries for 97 yards and Atlanta gashed Philly’s run defense for 152 yards.

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Vance courted religious voters in an important part of the metro Atlanta area. Cobb County, once a Republican stronghold, went for President Joe Biden in 2020 and is currently locked in a tight race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.