Eagles vs. Falcons: The good, the bad, and the ugly

You knew what was coming. You saw it before. Many times before—and not that long ago. This was the kind of game the 2023 Eagles lost. The Atlanta Falcons turned Lincoln Financial Field into a convention of people holding their heads in their hands on Monday night.

Once Saquon Barkley bobbled a Jalen Hurts pass on third-and-three with 1:46 to play, portents of Eagles’ pasts emerged. It later spelled doom, when Kirk Cousins, with seemingly endless time, ripped through the Eagles’ defense and smeared the Eagles’ home opener in a crushing 22-21 defeat to Atlanta.

Cousins could not move, and as it turns out, did not have to move against a non-existent Eagles’ pass rush. Cousins showed flashes of his old self, driving Atlanta down the field for the game-winning score, completing five of six for 70 yards.

Cousins’ seven-yard touchdown pass to Drake London with 34 seconds left wrapped it up.

Ask yourself this: If Nick Sirianni opted to kick an easy field goal on the Eagles’ second drive, instead of going for it on fourth-and-four at the Atlanta nine, would the Eagles be 2-0 right now?

This loss also proved something: Like 2023, the Eagles are heavily reliant on A.J. Brown, who did not play due to a hamstring injury. If opposing defenses can take out Brown, forcing the Eagles’ other supposed weapons to beat them, the Eagles may have a tough time this season. This a team, after all, built on offense.

This loss may have proved something else: The Eagles placed the onus on 2023’s 1-6 collapse on coaching. It may have been personnel that led to the Eagles’ demise. Jalen Carter looks good at times, invisible at other times. Jordan Davis is supposed to be a run stuffer. He is beginning to look like a first-round flop.

Defensively, the Eagles are not getting any edge rush. They cannot stop the run, either. Over the Eagles’ first two games, they are allowing an NFL-high average of 6.4 yards a carry (315 yards rushing/49 carries).

Has Bryce Huff, the big offseason acquisition, played? It does not seem like it.

There were seven lead changes in the Eagles’ 34-29 season-opening win over Green Bay. There were six lead changes against the Falcons. Get used to a 2024 roller coaster ride of a season.

There was some good, a good dose of bad, and a pile of ugly in a heart-breaking 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Good

Free safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, that hitting machine, made what looked like the play of the game, coming up to stop Bijan Robinson for no gain at the Falcons’ 39 on a fourth-and-one with 5:38 to play. Gardner-Johnson, not exactly known for his tackling prowess, made up for the major blunder he committed in the third quarter when he stood up Robinson and slammed him down.

The Eagles’ massive, 17-play, 70-yard drive that wiped away 9:34 off the clock and resulted in an 18-15 Eagles’ lead when Hurts bulled in from the one, and Saquon Barkley followed with a two-point conversion with 6:47 to play. The Eagles converted three third downs and a fourth down to keep the drive going, despite being flagged twice.

Defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV came up big, making two stops for negative yards, one on Robinson in the third quarter, and more importantly, he took down Robinson for a one-yard loss in the last 30 seconds of the second quarter that forced Atlanta into a field goal.

Britain Covey had a nice little game, catching a career-best six passes, including a clutch 9-yard reception on a third-and-four on the first play of the fourth quarter at the Eagles’ 45.

Hurts rolling right away from the Atlanta rush to find DeVonta Smith down field for a 19-yard gain to the Falcons’ 13 on a second-and-six with 6:21 left in the third quarter. Regrettably, all the Eagles could get out of the drive was a Jake Elliott 29-yard field goal with 4:28 left in the quarter.

Defensive end Milton Williams coming through to sack Cousins on third-and-four at the Eagles’ eight with 10:53 left in the third quarter, forcing a third field goal by the Falcons. The Eagles, at that point, had held opponents to one touchdown in six tries in the red zone.

The Eagles’ red zone defense continues to be stout. With the stop late in the first half, the Eagles had stopped four of five red zone drives in their first six quarters. The Eagles stuffed the Falcons and forced Atlanta into a Younghoe Koo 22-yard field goal with :06 left in the half.

Hurts scrambling for 23 yards on fourth-and-three at the Atlanta 41 on the Eagles’ fourth drive, then following that up with a 15-yard scramble in converting the game’s first third down on third-and-11 at the Falcons’ 19. Hurts wound up rushing for 47 yards that series in leading the Eagles to their first score, when he found Smith in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard TD with 5:15 left in the half. Hurts showed great patience in spotting Smith between two Atlanta defenders capping the 11-play, 70-yard drive.

Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell continues to look more and more like the real deal. On the Falcons’ second drive, the first-round pick closed well on London on a third-and-four at the Falcons’ 31 to break up Cousins’ only pass of that series.

Barkley on the Eagles’ second drive. He touched the ball four times for 39 yards. Barkley drove the Eagles to the Atlanta 9, when they squandered the chance on fourth-and-four when Hurts failed to connect with tight end Dallas Goedert.

Right tackle Lane Johnson taking out Atlanta defensive end Ta’Quon Graham, then shoving away linebacker Kaden Elliss on the same play on Barkley’s nine-yard run on the Eagles’ second drive. The carry brought the Eagles to the Atlanta 40 on the first-and-10 play.

Linebacker Nakobe Dean staying with Robinson on the Falcons’ third-and-four at the Atlanta 28. Dean’s coverage forced Robinson to bobble the ball and forced the Falcons to punt on their first drive. Dean tracked down Robinson again on the Falcons’ second drive. He was looking like the Naboke Dean the Eagles expected to see in his first two years. He finished with seven tackles.

The Bad

Johnson flagged for illegal man downfield on a first-and-goal at the Atlanta four on the Eagles’ fourth drive.

Tight end Grant Calcaterra getting blown up by Atlanta linebacker Matt Judon on Barkley’s two-yard loss at midfield on the Eagles’ fourth drive.

The Eagles’ defense on the Falcons’ third drive. The Eagles lack of pressure enabled Cousins to put together a seven-play, 52-yard drive that resulted in a Koo 39-yard field goal with 11:22 left in the half.

Center Cam Jurgens called for illegal man down field on the Eagles’ second play, which wiped out Covey’s seven-yard reception at the Atlanta 45 and forced a first-and-15. The flag was a drive killer.

Hurts had the look that he wanted on the Eagles’ initial third down of the game, at the Eagles’ 49, yet tucked the ball and ran, not really trusting what he saw. Hurts was down after three yards on third-and-nine to a smattering of boos two minutes into the game.

The Ugly

Vic Fangio’s defense on the final drive. Nothing was done to stir any additional heat on Cousins. The soft cap zone created gaps that Cousins picked apart. Atlanta’s lone touchdown prior to the final drive came from a botched play by Gardner-Johnson. The Falcons’ sustained drives ended in field goals. Their game-winning drive was methodical. The Eagles’ defense looked tired, unsure and left receivers a lot of open space down field. The nearest Eagles’ defender seemed five yards away on each Cousins’ completion. With the game at stake, Cousins engineered a six-play, 70-yard drive—and he did it rather easily.

Barkley dropping the Hurts’ pass on third-and-three with 1:46 to play at the Atlanta 10. A completion would have wrapped up an Eagles’ victory, instead of giving the Falcons a chance to win, which they did.

Gardner-Johnson last week turned his body the wrong way, and was burned when Jayden Reed ran right by him unchecked for an easy TD. The 70-yard TD toss was Jordan Love’s longest in his young NFL career. Gardner-Johnson got burned again in consecutive weeks, when Cousins found Darnell Mooney for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 1:21 left in the third quarter. Gardner-Johnson got caught looking at Cousins as Mooney ran right by him. Then, CJGJ made a weak attempt to take Mooney down.

Jurgens getting flagged a second time for illegal man downfield, this time it wiped out Britain Covey’s 14-yard reception in the last minute of the third quarter.

On the Falcons’ opening drive of the second half, they found a pigeon—Bryce Huff. They ran right at Huff on Robinson’s 19-yard carry to the Eagles’ 44. No one wanted to hear it during the preseason, and ignored the signs, Huff does not know what to do in space as an every-down defender. He is a specialist that the Eagles may have overrated with the money that they threw at him. Huff was nowhere near the stat sheet, other than the handful of downs he played. Did anyone notice? The Falcons certainly did when No. 0 was on the edge. They knew exactly where to run. Huff is getting thrown around and looks uncertain what he is supposed to do.

Defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis looking like human turnstiles on Atlanta’s last drive of the first half. On the Falcons’ second-and-three at the Eagles’ 31, Robinson went untouched for 14 yards to the Eagles’ 17. On the play, you will see Falcons’ center Drew Dalman get into Carter’s left shoulder and drive him left. This opened a hole. As Robinson runs by, you see Carter reaching for him. Davis could not even get off his block by Falcons’ left tackle Jake Matthews. Neither could get up field to apply any pressure on Cousins throughout the game. Neither have done much in the first two games this season.

Dean, who played well, getting flagged for illegal contact with 2:42 left in the first half,

Nick Sirianni opting to go for it on the Eagles’ second drive on a fourth-and-four at the Atlanta nine. What seemed en vogue throughout the NFL at one time by going for it on fourth down has now become outright trite and inept in some instances—like this one. Hurts had time and tried to force the ball into Dallas Goedert at the three. Sirianni’s decision took a give-me field goal and three valuable points off the scoreboard. Barkley’s drop was impactful, but Sirianni’s early bold move may have been just as impacting on this loss. How valuable do those three points look in the end now?

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep.” He is most noted for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.