Immediately after the Atlanta Falcons finished off the seventh-most improbable NFL comeback in the last eight years, Raheem Morris said he didn’t expect his team to get an emotional boost from the victory.
Given a day to think about it, the coach had reconsidered.
“For some of the players, it pumps more belief in them,” Morris said Tuesday when the Falcons returned to Atlanta after beating the Eagles 22-21 in Philadelphia. “For the coaches, we go around saying it all the time, but when players go out and execute and do it, it’s something that creates this energy for those guys knowing they can do anything at any time. I kind of walk around with the belief that they can do that all the time, but when they do it for themselves, that’s a little more special.”
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Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins tends to think like Morris. After posting a 117.2 quarterback rating and leading a 70-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes of the game, Cousins was ready to get back to work.
“You can never say, ‘Oh, we unlocked things, and now it’s going to be this way or that way,’” Cousins said. “You just keep fighting every play.”
Who’s next?! 🔥
Inside the locker room after the Monday Night Football dub! pic.twitter.com/xN0Q3LRwjy
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 17, 2024
If the Falcons (1-1) did unlock something beyond just better vibes on Monday night, it was their run game. Atlanta rushed for 152 yards against the Eagles, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. It was a dramatic transformation from Week 1 when the Falcons were held to 89 rushing yards.
Atlanta averaged 2.04 yards per carry before contact against the Eagles compared with .95 yards per carry before contact against the Steelers, according to TruMedia. For the season, they are now ninth in the NFL in EPA per carry (.04).
Bijan Robinson carried the run game Monday, gaining 97 yards on 14 carries. It was the third-most prolific game of his career, and he added four receptions for 25 yards and was more involved in pass protection than in Week 1.
“That’s the vision for Bijan,” Morris said. “Bijan is a well-rounded back, can do whatever you ask. You’re probably more excited about him stepping up and making some of those blocks. Bijan can do whatever you ask him to do. My son calls him Black Panther and he plays like it.”
Robinson is 11th in the league in rushing through two weeks with 165 yards and tied for seventh in rushing first downs with 10.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni credited Atlanta’s run game with helping to stymie Philadelphia’s pass rush. After giving up seven quarterback hits against the Steelers, the Falcons allowed only two against the Eagles.
“Sometimes you have to earn the right to rush, meaning you have got to have them in passing situations,” Sirianni said. “Didn’t seem like we had passing situations today. They were in third-and-manageable or second-and-manageable. They were ahead of the sticks, that makes it a little bit harder on the pass rush.”
The Falcons came out of the game “fairly healthy,” Morris said after reviewing the film. The coach also forgave wide receiver Drake London for the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty after his game-tying touchdown catch that forced Younghoe Koo to make a 47-yard extra point.
“You know Drake, he’s a great kid,” Morris said. “His intent was not the use of a weapon. He was probably shooting T-shirts into the stands, to be honest with you. He got excited. He immediately apologized on site before I had the chance to correct him.”
The Falcons don’t have much time to revel in their win. The team arrived home shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday and now must prepare to face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
“That’s just normal business for us when you play on Monday night,” Morris said. “I know we are not as used to them over the years, but when you want to play in these big-time moments and big-time games, this is what happens. You have to be able to turn the page pretty quickly.”
(Photo: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)
