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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 29, 2024, 05:54 PM ET
ATLANTA — For the second time in three weeks, quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons found a way to win on their final drive despite having an uneven offensive performance throughout.
The Falcons beat the NFC South rival New Orleans Saints 26-24 on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on a career-long 58-yard field goal from kicker Younghoe Koo with two seconds left.
Atlanta scored on defense with a pick-six of Derek Carr by linebacker Troy Andersen. The Falcons also scored on special teams, courtesy of a punt muffed by Saints returner Rashid Shaheed and a recovery in the end zone by KhaDarel Hodge. But the Falcons could not muster a single touchdown on offense.
It was the first time since Sept. 26, 2004, that Atlanta won a game without scoring an offensive touchdown.
“There’s a lot to fix,” Cousins said in his postgame news conference. “And so 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 and how I’ve got to be better and how we’ve got to build on it.”
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Cousins was 21-of-35 for 238 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. His pass on the final drive to wide receiver Darnell Mooney resulted in a defensive pass interference call, which helped set up Koo’s game-winning field goal. Cousins threw a 7-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with 34 seconds left to Drake London to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
“Honestly felt like the final drive was really not good enough by me, by our offense,” Cousins said. “But Koo made an unbelievable kick.”
Cousins has 29 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since he became a full-time starter in 2015, which is second in the league during that span (Carr, 33).
“It’s great to find a way to win in this league,” Cousins said.
But the Saints had the Falcons beat in first downs (25-14), total yards (366-315) and time of possession (35:42-24:18). The Falcons also had nine penalties for 76 yards, three of which upended promising drives.
Each of the Falcons’ four games this season have been one-score contests, and no team in the league has had more of those than Atlanta since 2002 (27). Cousins himself has started in 46 one-score games over the past five seasons, five more than any other quarterback in the NFL over that time.
Running back Bijan Robinson struggled to get going Sunday, rushing for 28 yards on just seven carries. Tyler Allgeier was the hot hand for the Falcons in the second half, finishing with eight carries for 60 yards on the ground. The offensive line also played well despite center Drew Dalman (ankle) and right tackle Kaleb McGary (knee) being out. They were replaced by Ryan Neuzil and Storm Norton, respectively.
“So many things you can correct, and it’s always nice to correct those things in a win,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said.
