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PHILADELPHIA — As the heavy metal doors to the Philadelphia visitor locker room closed, nothing and nobody was safe.
Atlanta Falcons team owner Arthur Blank’s plaid gray suit and dark pocket square were not off-limits as his players jubilantly sprayed water to celebrate a 22-21 primetime upset of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Head coach Raheem Morris was doused so thoroughly he could not read the ink on the paper box score he had received moments earlier.
Rookie first-round quarterback Michael Penix Jr. tried to stay out of the spray zone, but “it was a lot of water thrown,” he told Yahoo Sports. “Everybody just excited for the first win of the season.”
They had reason to be.
Because after the Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Falcons 18-12 in Atlanta, a Falcons team that had already absorbed an unusual amount of criticism throughout the offseason was now facing it for on-field performance, too.
A franchise questioned for awarding $100 million guaranteed to one quarterback just before drafting another in the first round was under at least external fire throughout the week for how that $100 million acquisition performed in an inefficient loss.
So after the Falcons’ offense scored a go-ahead touchdown with 34 seconds to play Monday and the Falcons’ defense secured the game-sealing interception two plays later, Atlanta wasn’t ready to crown itself champions nor overstate the importance of this win.
But the first victory in the Kirk Cousins-Raheem Morris era gave a locker room full of players who preceded that duo more optimism than they’d felt in a while. For Morris, who won a Super Bowl as Los Angles Rams defensive coordinator, and for Cousins, who’s competed in five playoff games, a Week 2 nail-biter is not nirvana.
But a franchise riding six straight losing seasons needs to start its turnaround somewhere. Amid soggy box scores and spotted suits at the club’s first Monday Night Football appearance in three years and 11 months, they did.
“I can’t remember a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/by-engineering-epic-comeback-win-over-eagles-kirk-cousins-has-falcons-believing-080841429.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-09-17 08:08:41
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