ATLANTA — Kirk Cousins and Darnell Mooney sit next to each other in Atlanta’s locker room at the Falcons’ practice facility, which regularly reminds Cousins how seriously Mooney takes football.
“I’ll ask a question and when I hear his answer, I’m like, ‘Whoa,’” Cousins said. “He keeps me on my toes because I’m like, ‘Man, if I don’t know my stuff, Mooney is going to expose me here.’”
Cousins got another reminder of Mooney’s football IQ on Sunday on the decisive drive of Atlanta’s 26-24 victory over New Orleans, and he got it because he made a mistake. The Falcons (2-2) faced second-and-10 from their 30-yard with 29 seconds remaining when the Saints’ Paulson Adebo was flagged for pass interference against Mooney, giving Atlanta 30 yards and setting up Younghoe Koo’s game-winning, 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.
Cousins underthrew the pass, and not intentionally.
“It was a double move, so I threw it pretty early, and I felt like I should have thrown the ball further and Mooney could have run underneath it and maybe it’s a (touchdown),” Cousins said. “I was disappointed in myself that the ball was underthrown. Great route by him, and I just would have liked to be able to put the ball out there a little further for him.”
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Mooney saw the problem right away and decided while sprinting down the right sideline that it was unlikely he would be able to catch the ball. That’s when he went to his bag of tricks, raising his hands well before the ball arrived to force a reaction from Adebo.
“The way the ball was in the air, I knew I was going to have to draw something,” he said. “I just have to flash my hands a little earlier for him to be like, ‘Oh (crap), I have to hit the ball out.’ The ball wasn’t coming right then, so he hit me early. It’s something I’ve been working on a long time, and it worked today.”
It was the only positive-yardage play on the Falcons’ five-play, 30-yard scoring drive.
“He’s a total pro,” Cousins said, “so I’m not surprised that he would have an awareness of, ‘Hey, the ball’s underthrown, we’ve got a chance at a DPI here.’ That’s the kind of player he is.”
Right on the Mooney 💰@Darnell_M1 pic.twitter.com/bYqwm2tuBp
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 29, 2024
Mooney’s big-money play was about the only highlight for the offense against the Saints (2-2). Atlanta’s special teams and defense each scored a touchdown thanks to a muffed punt recovery by KhaDarel Hodge and a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by Troy Andersen, but the Falcons offense did not. Sunday was the first time since 2004 that Atlanta has won a game without an offensive touchdown.
“There’s a lot to fix,” Cousins said. “You come away saying, ‘I’m so glad we won,’ but I’m going to be voice-memoing on the way home to the coaches with some thoughts.”
The quarterback, who was signed to a four-year deal worth at least $100 million this offseason, came to the postgame podium to meet with the media visibly frustrated.
“I do dislike this about myself that I have a standard that’s maybe unreachable and even after a win you feel like you have to play better,” Cousins said. “I will still enjoy the win, believe me, but there was a lot left out there.”
The Falcons, who finished with 315 yards, have scored only five offensive touchdowns this season. Denver (four), New England (four) and Miami (three) are the only teams with fewer, and the Dolphins have played only three games.
“We have to do better getting down the field and scoring the ball,” Mooney said. “We have to put some points on the board. It doesn’t matter how many great names and great players we do have, we have to go out there and put points on the board to help our defense because they play well every week.”
Koo bailed them out Sunday. His kicks came from 53, 44, 42 and finally 58 yards. The 58-yarder was his career long.
“I have made that in practice. I have the leg for it,” Koo said. “Once we got to the 40, I knew I had a chance, so I just got locked in.”
Can he kick it?
YES KOO CAN
FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/eMlvhWUiLq
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 29, 2024
The game-winning drive mirrored a situation the Falcons ran in Friday’s practice when they had 56 seconds to set up a game-winning field goal and were successful only because of a big penalty, coach Raheem Morris said. Their game-winning scores in their two victories this season have each come in the final 36 seconds of the game.
“Welcome to the National Football League,” Morris said. “I have been in the league since 2002, and I feel like they all end the same way. It’s about having that mental stamina to go out there and push and pursue and get your guys to go out there and finish. They fight every single week, and I’m proud of them.”
The offense’s struggles put the defense in another time-of-possession hole (the Saints had an 11-minute, 24-second advantage for the game.), but the Falcons allowed only 10 points in the final 43:42 of game action.
“In the second half, we knew we had to step it up and stop all the leaky yardage and be stickier in coverage,” cornerback Mike Hughes said. “We started playing the plan better, not a whole lot of adjustments. We knew what we had to do to play better.”
Andersen led the defensive effort with his touchdown to go along with a career-high 16 tackles, but he left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury and his status was not immediately available after the game.
“Troy played absolutely fantastic,” linebacker Kaden Elliss said. “He’s flying around everywhere, scored points when we needed them and continued to hawk people down. He’s playing amazing.”
Atlanta’s win evened the all-time series against their most bitter rivals at 55-55. The Falcons have only four days to prepare for their next division game, a “Thursday Night Football” matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lead the NFC South with a 3-1 record. After that, it’s a road game against Carolina.
“These games are mandatory,” Mooney said. “These games are the ones we have to have. Take care of these three, and we’re sitting good.”
the Falcons should feel fortunate just to have gotten the first one.
“I don’t feel like Cinderella,” Morris said. “I feel like you have to go out there and play every single week and try to get a win. The more poised team usually wins. Right now, I’m trying to show my team poise and what it looks like and what it feels like to be resilient, and they are showing us, showing our city.”
(Photo of Darnell Mooney and Paulson Adebo: Dale Zanine / Imagn Images)
