Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles: Storylines and Key Matchups heading into Monday Night Football, NFL Week 2

After kicking off their season with a long-haul trip to São Paulo, Brazil, the Philadelphia Eagles are finally back home and ready for Monday Night Football. They’ll face the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field, looking to build on their 1-0 start.

After spending 20 hours on a plane and enjoying a few days of recovery, the Birds have to be feeling refreshed and ready to roll. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s looking for some redemption after a tough Week 1 loss.

Falcons vs Eagles: What to watch on Monday Night

• Eagles O-Line Still Dominant, Even Without Kelce: Despite the departure of their veteran center Jason Kelce, the Eagles’ offensive line still looks like one of the best in the league. Week 1 against the Packers? Zero sacks, only eight pressures on 38 drop backs. Lane Johnson and Mekhi Becton are holding down the fort, and Becton’s switch to guard earned him top PFF grades. Meanwhile, the Falcons’ pass rush? Not so hot. They allowed 12 pressures and three sacks against the Steelers. Yikes.

• Can Cousins Get It Together? Kirk Cousins wasn’t exactly lighting it up last week in Atlanta’s 18-10 loss to the Steelers. He had just 155 passing yards with a touchdown and two picks, and the second half? Brutal. Only 19 passing yards, his worst half in a 13-year career. Cousins is also still shaking off the rust after his Achilles injury. Not to mention, Monday Night Football hasn’t been his best friend—his 3-10 record in primetime speaks for itself. One of those losses? Against the Eagles last year.

• Jalen Hurts Looking to Stay Hot: Jalen Hurts had a bit of a bumpy start in Week 1 with two early turnovers, but he found his groove and led the Eagles to victory. He ended the day with 278 yards and two touchdown passes. Hurts has seen the Falcons before, and if history’s any indication (see: a 32-6 blowout in 2021), he could be in for another big day. Hurts will have to operate without his number one wide receiver in AJ Brown, who was downgraded to OUT over the weekend as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury.

Report: AJ Brown officially downgraded to OUT with a hamstring injury ahead of MNF vs. Falcons >>

Falcons vs Eagles: Key Matchups

• Eagles D-Line vs. Falcons O-Line: Atlanta’s offensive line struggled big time against Pittsburgh, and it won’t get any easier on Monday. The Eagles’ front four—featuring Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham—is no joke. If Atlanta’s O-line doesn’t step up, Cousins could be in for another rough outing.

• Falcons Defense vs Saquon Barkley: We’ll see the adjustments to the Eagles offense following a dominant Week 1 from Barkley. If he’s going to match those numbers—109 yards on the ground, plus an 18-yard receiving score and two more rushing TDs—he’ll likely have to do it on fewer touches. “Load Management” is in play. Kellen Moore is ready to adjust. The Eagles have plenty of weapons to make whatever work.

• Is it Bijan Time? Atlanta had an odd game plan last week, running 96% of their plays out of the pistol or shotgun. Bijan Robinson had a few nice moments, but this week they’ll need to feature him more to control the clock and keep Philly’s offense off the field. Running between the tackles worked for the Steelers, so don’t be surprised if Atlanta tries the same thing.

The Eagles by a million.

Both teams are pretty healthy, though Cousins is still working his way back from that Achilles injury, and linebacker Devin White has an ankle issue for Philly.

Cousins can’t play under the bright lights of primetime NFL football and when it comes down to it, the Eagles have the edge on paper at pretty much every position.

If Jalen Hurts plays like he did the last time he faced Atlanta, expect Philly fans to leave The Linc on Monday Night happy.

All Things Philadelphia Eagles Week 2 >>

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