Eagles falter as the Falcons and Kirk Cousins have the last laugh over Jalen Hurts in a stunning 22-21 loss

With 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, down by six points, the Atlanta Falcons stormed 70 yards down the field and spoiled the Eagles’ home opener.

Kirk Cousins, the familiar Week 2 foe who signed with the Falcons in the offseason, completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Drake London to pull off a 22-21 comeback win on Monday night. The Eagles got the ball back at their own 30-yard line with 34 seconds left, but Jalen Hurts tossed an interception to Jessie Bates to seal the Falcons’ victory.

Here’s our instant analysis of the Eagles’ first loss of the season:

In its season opener against the Green Bay Packers, the Eagles defense limited the Packers offense to a 25% success rate in the red zone. That bend-but-don’t-break mentality initially carried over to the home opener. On three straight trips deep into Eagles territory in the second and third quarters, Cousins and the Falcons offense settled for three field-goal attempts, taking a 9-7 lead after the third kick from Younghoe Koo.

However, the Eagles weren’t able to keep the Falcons out of the end zone for long. On their next possession in the third quarter, they strung together a seven-play, 70-yard drive, capped off by a 41-yard touchdown reception by Darnell Mooney with C.J. Gardner Johnson in coverage. He broke Gardner-Johnson’s tackle and somersaulted into the end zone for the touchdown. The Falcons went up 15-10 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles up 21-15, Cousins spearheaded a six-play, 70-yard drive in roughly one minute without any timeouts remaining. It was capped off by London’s touchdown reception with Darius Slay trailing in coverage. After the game, Slay said that the Falcons broke “a lot of their tendencies” with the route concept on the touchdown play. He added that he also got caught with his eyes in the backfield, taking responsibility for conceding the go-ahead score.

“That play, for sure, Coach [Vic Fangio] put us in a great position for us to make the play. I really just [expletive] that up. I’ve just got to be better on that, because I should’ve made the play.”

Cousins finished the night 20-for-29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns for a 117.2 passer rating. He was sacked once by Milton Williams in the third quarter, but Cousins was seldom under pressure otherwise by the Eagles pass rush.

The Battle of the Birds featured a pair of top running backs in Saquon Barkley, who signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles in the offseason, and Bijan Robinson, the Falcons’ No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Texas. Both players got involved in their respective offenses early and often. On the Eagles’ second possession of the night, Barkley rattled off four carries for 39 yards (9.75 yards per carry), but the drive ended in a turnover on downs in the red zone with the game scoreless.

The Eagles backed off on Barkley in the third quarter, when he only had two carries. He got going in the passing game in the fourth quarter, snaring a 5-yard reception in the flat on a play-action pass. Barkley nearly scored his first touchdown at the Linc, but he was ruled down at the goal line, prompting a Hurts Tush Push touchdown to give the Eagles the 18-15 lead.

But things went south for the sixth-year running back on the second-to-last possession of the night. On third-and-3 at the Falcons’ 10-yard line, Hurts attempted to complete another play-action pass to Barkley in the flat. He dropped the ball and clapped his hands in frustration on the sideline. The incomplete pass stopped the clock at 1:42 and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal that made it 21-15.

“Let my team down today,” Barkley said. “Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. Made that catch, game’s over. Relax, get back to my old habits, and just got to go back to work.”

Robinson was effective in part thanks to the dominance of the Falcons’ offensive line against the Eagles’ defensive front. Of the Falcons’ 31 plays in the first half, Robinson touched the ball on 12 of them, amassing 72 rushing yards on 10 carries. One of his more impressive runs of the night came late in the first quarter on second-and-8 when he ran to the left, then got vertical, causing Quinyon Mitchell to slip and fall behind him for a 14-yard gain. He finished the game with 14 carries for 97 yards.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts solid until his game-ending interception, defensive line struggles vs. Falcons

One of the bright spots of the Eagles’ upset loss was Hurts’ scrambling ability. In the Eagles’ lone touchdown drive of the first three quarters, Hurts flaunted his wheels on a trio of scrambles. Down 3-0 in the second, Hurts carried the Eagles with his legs, amassing 47 scramble yards on the drive. He punctuated a 23-yard scramble to the Falcons’ 18-yard line with an emphatic spike, which incurred a delay-of-game penalty.

Hurts wasn’t finished in the run game. After a loss of 5 yards on a pitch to Barkley, Hurts ripped off back-to-back scrambles on second-and-20 and third-and-11, converting for a first down and bringing the Eagles into the red zone. The drive ended with a DeVonta Smith touchdown in the back of the end zone, the wide receiver slipping past the safety Bates to take a 7-3 lead.

With A.J. Brown out due to a hamstring injury, Smith was the preferred target of the night, finishing with a team-high seven receptions for 76 yards and the touchdown. But it took some time for Hurts to feed Smith the ball. Through the first 14 plays of the game, Smith hadn’t touched the ball once. But he played a big role on his own scoring drive, contributing an 18-yard reception on a deep out.

Hurts came alive with his legs on third-and-3 early in the fourth quarter, picking up 12 yards on a designed run up the middle to push the Eagles deep into the Falcons territory. Later in the drive, he had another 12-yard run on first-and-16 from the Atlanta 18-yard line, bouncing out to the left sideline to bring the Eagles into the red zone. He finished the series with a Tush Push touchdown.

The fourth-year starting quarterback finished the night going 23-for-30 for 183 passing yards, a touchdown, and the game-ending interception for an 88.6 passer rating. He was the team’s second-leading rusher, collecting 85 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, but it wasn’t enough to put the Eagles over the top.