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.
Bates, who had the game-ending interception, led all players with 12 tackles. — Tyler Dragon
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.
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➤ Game stats
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)
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
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
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.
The Eagles settled for a 28-yard field goal from Jake Elliott to make it a 21-15 game and the Falcons will get a chance to tie and possibly take the lead. — Jordan Mendoza
Atlanta went for a fourth down but C.J. Gardner-Johnson didn’t let it happen.
After a third down pass got the Falcons close to moving the chains, the offense stayed on the field with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter. Bijan Robinson took the handoff, but Gardner-Johnson busted right through the line and took him down before he could advance. The Eagles now get the ball in Falcons territory with a chance to make it a two-score game. — Jordan Mendoza
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.
The Eagles have 167 rushing yards in the game. — Tyler Dragon
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.
Mooney did a front flip as he entered the end zone. The ensuring two-point conversion attempt was not good, but the Falcons reclaimed the lead. — Tyler Dragon
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.
Philadelphia trotted out the kicking team and looked like it try a trick play, but took the delay of game. Jake Elliott drilled the 29-yard field goal for the lead. — Jordan Mendoza
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.
Koo’s made all three of his field goal attempts. — Tyler Dragon
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.
The Eagles are still on top 7-6 at halftime. — Tyler Dragon
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.
Hurts current has 70 passing yards, 52 rushing yards and a passing TD with 5:09 remaining in the first half. — Tyler Dragon
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.
Kirk Cousins had a 19-yard pass to wide receiver Drake London to help get the Falcons in position for points. — Tyler Dragon
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.
Running back Saquon Barkley had four carries for 39 yards during the series, but the Eagles went away from their star running back once they got into the red zone. — Tyler Dragon
PHILADELPHIA — Time of first boo: 8:19 p.m. ET.
The Eagles called for a quarterback draw with five wide receivers lined up at the line of scrimmage. Jalen Hurts came up well short of the first-down marker and head coach Nick Sirianni sent out the punt unit from plus-territory. — Chris Bumbaca
The Eagles have the third-best home winning percentage in the NFL since 2022 (.778, 14-4). They have won seven of their last nine games at Lincoln Financial Field. — Tyler Dragon
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
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.
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.
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
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
A hamstring injury is keeping Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown from playing against the Falcons on "Monday Night Football."
Falcons' inactive players:
Eagles' inactive players:
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.
Here are the USA TODAY Sports' expert picks for the game:
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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