Eagles-Falcons: Quarterback Matchup In The Spotlight

Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore called Jalen Hurts' two picks "outliers" while questions circulate around Falcons QB Kirk Cousins about his health, but his Monday night record isn't good.

Sep 6, 2024; Sao Paulo, BRA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at Neo Quimica Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Outliers. That’s what Kellen Moore called the two interceptions Jalen Hurts threw to the Packers in last week’s season opening 34-29 win, a game in which Philly lost the turnover battle, 3-1.

They were minus-10 in the turnover/takeaway ratio last year, which was sixth worst in the league and now they’re already minus-two. The only number that matters right now, though is1, as in 1-0, as they prepare to host the Atlanta Falcons in their home opener on Monday night. The Falcons are 0-1 and their quarterback, Kirk Cousins, also threw two picks in their 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cousins, though, did not look fully recovered from the Achilles’ injury he suffered last year while with the Minnesota Vikings. He finished the game 16-for-26 with 155 yards and a passer rating of 59.0.

It didn’t look like he wanted to plant his right foot too hard, which in turn led to him using too much upper body to throw the ball, and that’s not good.

Also not good is Cousins’ record on Monday Night Football, which is 3-10, including a 34-28 loss to the Eagles last year when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. He also lost to Philly in a Thursday night primetime game two years, 24-7.

Vic Fangio expects to see Cousins for all 60 minutes Monday night and not his backup, first-round pick Michael Penix, Jr.

“I'm expecting to see Cousins, and I do believe he's healthy enough,” said the Eagles defensive coordinator. “If he wasn't, they probably wouldn't play him.”

Sep 8, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws a touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Pitts (8) (not pictured) against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Hurts has met the Falcons only once in his career and that was in Nick Sirianni's first game as a head coach in the 2021 opener when he threw for three scores and completed 77 percent of his throws in a 32-6 win.

That was a long time ago and neither team is the same. You could say, though, that Hurts is still the same as last year when he threw 15 interceptions and tossed two more in the opener against the Packers. Still, he recovered nicely and finished with a passer rating of 80.3 and 278 yards.

Again, Moore isn’t concerned about those. He took some of the blame, saying he was probably being too aggressive since both picks came in third-and-long situations a third-and-15 and third-and-13.

“We got a little aggressive, myself play calling, also ultimately just the throw,” said Moore. “But not overly concerned. They're outliers in many cases, I think as we all have seen Jalen in those circumstances, so we feel optimistic we'll be just fine moving forward and we'll be able to adjust.”

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