Kirk Cousins admits expecting Eagles to win MNF game on final drive - "I've got some scars"
Of all the upsets that happened in Week 2, the Philadelphia Eagles perhaps suffered the most shocking loss of them all. That's not to say the Atlanta Falcons aren't a good team, but Philadelphia needed only three yards to effectively close the game and improve 2-0. And they failed in doing so.
After a Saquon Barkley drop near the end zone, the Eagles kicked a field goal to improve their advantage to six points before Kirk Cousins led the Falcons in a quick touchdown drive to win the game. Atlanta somehow walked away with an unexpected win, while Philadelphia kept wondering how they lost the game.
Speaking on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday about what transpired during the final minutes of Monday's game, the Falcons quarterback admitted that he did not expect his team to pull off the upset after how close Philadelphia was to winning:
"The final drive of the game, I've got some scars in my football career where I thought we had won the game and then it didn't end up the way I had hoped. So I get a little skeptical when I'm standing there watching, but you also believe we can do this," Cousins said.
"All the Eagles needed was a field goal. So I was just standing and watching and our defense made a great play. Jessie Bates was instinctual, got the interception, and at that point, just needed to take a knee," he added.
This was Cousins's 12th game against the Eagles in his career, and he holds a 7-5 record against their former rivals.
Who's to blame for the Eagles' surprising loss on Monday?
It was a collection of factors, but the play call by Nick Sirianni was correct. Barkley was free and, had he not dropped the ball, Philadelphia would have a 2-0 record at this point against two good NFC teams.
It's down to execution, and to put this in Saquon Barkley's hands alone would be atrocious – Jalen Hurts' interception to end the game was also bad. But the coaches called the right play, and the team just didn't execute them.