The Atlanta Falcons pulled off a shocking upset over the Eagles on Monday night. Nobody gave them much of a chance coming into the game, but the way the Falcons won was even wilder, with Kirk Cousins leading a touchdown drive in the final two minutes with no timeouts.
That capped off what was a much better night for the Atlanta offense, as Week 1 now almost feels like a distant memory.
Kirk Cousins can still spin it
In the first half, the Falcons offense looked a lot like it did against the Steelers. Despite playing under center more and featuring a lot more play-action, Kirk Cousins never looked comfortable, and the Falcons had to settle for field goals both times they got in the red zone.
However, in the second half, we were reminded why the Falcons handed Kirk Cousins $180 million dollars. The Falcons scored on three of their four drives, including two touchdown passes from Cousins, who finished the half 13-16 with 166 yards and two touchdowns.
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1835882930821824698
Even after three quarters, it was fair to wonder if Cousins was capable of pushing the ball down the field and throwing it outside the numbers with the necessary pace needed to complete such passes consistently. However, that all changed on the final drive.
Not only was Cousins pushing it down the field, but he was throwing it accurately outside of the numbers. Of the five passes he completed on the last drive, four of them came outside the numbers, including the touchdown pass to Drake London in the corner of the end zone.
Bijan Robinson is not like the rest
Kirk Cousins will get all of the headlines today for his performance on the final drive, but Bijan Robinson was the star of the show for three quarters. He rushed the ball 14 times for 97 yards and also had 25 yards receiving on four catches. Every time Robinson touches it, it feels like he has a legitimate chance to take it to the end zone. He’s a big play waiting to happen that is almost never brought down by the first guy that meets him. If the Falcons offense can continue to improve, it won’t be long before Bijan Robinson is talked about as one of the best running backs in football.
The pass rush still needs work
On a victory Tuesday, I don’t want to talk about a lot of negatives. However, we have to discuss the Falcons pass rush. They only came up with one sack against Jalen Hurts, and for the most part, he had all of the time in the world to throw, or even run if he felt like it. A lot of credit should be given to the Eagles offensive line, arguably the best unit in the league, but even after the addition of Matthew Judon, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons looked to add even more help to the pass rush during the season.
—
Photo: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.