South Atlanta News

PHILADELPHIA — From the tunnels of Lincoln Financial Field at the end of Monday night, the Falcons' cheers echoed down an otherwise quiet corridor. For as loud as the Philadelphia fans in the stands got, that's how much the pendulum swung back the other way when the Falcons offense put together a masterclass of a two-minute drill to drive down and defeat the Eagles 22-21 on Monday Night Football.

When the Falcons took over with 1:39 left on the clock on their own 30-yard line down 21-15, they had a 0.7% chance to win the game, according to Next Gen Stats. That less than 1% chance turned into nearly 100% six plays later, when Kirk Cousins found Drake London in the front corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

After a Jessie Bates III interception put the game on ice in the final seconds, the probability turned to 100%. The comeback is the seventh-most improbable win in the NGS era (since 2016).

When the echoes in the tunnel subsided after the win, head coach Raheem Morris walked into the press conference room with the game ball in hand. The team collectively gave Morris this ball. And of all his career game balls, his first as Falcons' head coach following a comeback win on prime-time television was something he knows is different.

"That team is special," Morris said. "That team means a lot to me."

This was a moment an offseason in making. The reason you pay Cousins what you do to be your starting quarterback is for moments like this. Talking to players in locker room after game, many said Cousins was as even-keeled in final minute of game as he was at any other moment throughout night. A mark of true veteran, some would say.

"He didn't blink," Falcons offensive tackle Jake Matthews said. "It was similar to how we are in practice. You can tell he's been there before. He just did a great job."

Bijan Robinson, second-year running back who played in his first prime-time game Monday night, said Cousins was exactly what team needed at that moment.

"Having vet quarterback like that, there's really nothing to worry about," Robinson said. "But then having him just so locked in and making sure that everything is where it needs to be and where everybody should be, having him just so locked in like that was huge for us."

That winning six-play drive saw Cousins hit Darnell Mooney for two plays of 20-plus yards. Cousins was five-for-six on drive ultimately capped off with London touchdown. From Cousins' perspective, he said London's separation on route "made it easy" for him to find London in end zone.

Both Mooney and Robinson made comment postgame in locker room that this drive — specifically — matches what they believe their offense to be.

"That's how our offense is," Robinson said. "That's real offense right there."

Mooney: "This is expectation we all see with our offense."

Watching from sideline, Bates said composure and play-making ability from Cousins in clutch was "pretty damn good."

"Might have been best I've ever seen," Bates said.

The Falcons may have had less than one percent chance to win that game when two-minute warning came and went but there was still chance—a chance Falcons were able to capitalize on.

"Proud of way we found way to win," Cousins said. "We can build on that."