Cousins leaves it late to lead Falcons past Eagles

Oh, so this was what Atlanta expected out of $US180 million ($A266 million) lavished on Kirk Cousins.

Certainly not a shaky effort like the 36-year-old veteran had in the opener, raising concerns in the loss about the quarterback's return to form from a torn achilles tendon.

Cousins calmed fears down the stretch and made all the clutch throws in Philadelphia his counterpart Jalen Hurts could not — and sent the Falcons home winners on Monday night.

Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a seven-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory.

"He went out and played important in the biggest moments in the biggest times," Atlanta coach Raheem Morris said.

"Those are things you want to have happen when you have a chance to go out there and get wins. It was great to see today with Kirk Cousins."

Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles (1-1) to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defence playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.

Cousins, in his second game since tearing his achilles tendon last October while playing for Minnesota, hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.

Cousins found London on a short pass to his right and he torched Darius Slay for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.

"We saved just enough time for those guys to go down and march down and get that game-winning touchdown," Morris said.

Cousins was five of six for 70 yards on the final drive and finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns.

"When you have these games that could go either way, you find a way to have it break your way," Cousins said.

"That's the way this league is and so when we can find those inches, it can really change the tale of the season."

Hurts, who was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, had his final pass intercepted to seal Atlanta's win and set off wild celebrations.

"They made a couple more plays than we did down the stretch. We made some plays; they made more," Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni said.

"And that's on all of us. That starts with coaching and goes to the players. We are all responsible for the loss."