Ravens struggle against Raiders, Vikings get win over 49ers
Prince Grimes breaks down all the ups and downs of NFL week 2 of the 2024 season.
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Week 2 in the NFL is almost complete, with a pair of aspiring NFC playoff contenders wrapping things up on “Monday Night Football.”
The Atlanta Falcons will be looking to avoid an 0-2 start as they face the Philadelphia Eagles, who are seeking to remain among the ranks of the unbeaten. Plenty of eyes will be on Kirk Cousins as the quarterback looks to bounce back from a disappointing debut with his new team. But the Eagles will also be under the microscope in their home opener after their big win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil. Philadelphia will need to recalibrate its offense for the night with star wide receiver A.J. Brown sidelined by a hamstring injury.
USA TODAY Sports will have live updates throughout the evening, so check back for all the latest on the Falcons vs. Eagles game:
Second quarter
Falcons field goal (11:22) — Younghoe Koo, 39 yards
Eagles touchdown (5:15) — DeVonta Smith, 7-yard pass from Jalen Hurts (Jake Elliott extra point)
Falcons field goal (0:06) — Younghoe Koo, 22 yards
Jalen Hurts led the Eagles on an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive midway through the second quarter to lift the team to a 7-3 lead.
Hurts had 46 rushing yards during the drive that ended in a 7-yard touchdown catch by wideout DeVonta Smith.
Hurts current has 70 passing yards, 52 rushing yards and a passing TD with 5:09 remaining in the first half. — Tyler Dragon
The Falcons scored the first points of the ballgame in the second quarter.
Atlanta went on an eight-play, 52-yard drive that ended with a successful 39-yard field goal by kicker Younghoe Koo to give the club a 3-0 lead at the 11:22 mark in the second period.
Kirk Cousins had a 19-yard pass to wide receiver Drake London to help get the Falcons in position for points. — Tyler Dragon
The Eagles were 9 yards away from the end zone, but couldn’t punch it in.
Philadelphia’s promising 10-play, 55-yard drive ended when Jalen Hurts’ pass to tight end Dallas Goedert fell incomplete on fourth-and-4 from the 9-yard line with 4:38 on the clock in the first quarter.
Running back Saquon Barkley had four carries for 39 yards during the series, but the Eagles went away from their star running back once they got into the red zone. — Tyler Dragon
PHILADELPHIA — Time of first boo: 8:19 p.m. ET.
The Eagles called for a quarterback draw with five wide receivers lined up at the line of scrimmage. Jalen Hurts came up well short of the first-down marker and head coach Nick Sirianni sent out the punt unit from plus-territory. — Chris Bumbaca
The Eagles have the third-best home winning percentage in the NFL since 2022 (.778, 14-4). They have won seven of their last nine games at Lincoln Financial Field. — Tyler Dragon
PHILADELPHIA — Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was seen roaming the sidelines before kickoff. Alongside him was his former protégé and former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia.
Belichick’s new role on Monday nights has been joining Peyton and Eli Manning on the “ManningCast” as the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach navigates his first football season away from a NFL sidelines in five decades. — Chris Bumbaca
ESPN again is the broadcast home of “Monday Night Football.” The longtime team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (color) will be on the call, with Lisa Salters adding reports from the sideline.
Viewers can also tune to ESPN2 for the “ManningCast” featuring Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as Bill Belichick.
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo TV. Fubo TV carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
ESPN+, the proprietary streaming service of ESPN, will also carry the game.
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce definitely qualifies as a “personality hire.”
It’s why ESPN coveted his broadcasting services for the 2024 NFL season after all.
“He kept asking ‘What do you expect from me? What do you want?’ And we’re like, ‘We just want you to be you,’” ESPN vice president of production, Seth Markman, told USA TODAY Sports.
Kelce joined the network’s “Monday Night Countdown” desk alongside host Scott Van Pelt and fellow analysts Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark. Every company that airs the NFL lined up meetings to convince the former Philadelphia Eagles center to join their shop because of his engaging personality. — Chris Bumbaca
No NFL broadcast is complete without an opening theme song.
In September 2023, the league ruffled some feathers announcing the program’s new theme song performed by an unlikely trio: Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana, who recorded a cover of the 1981 Phil Collins classic “In The Air Tonight.” — Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer
A hamstring injury is keeping Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown from playing against the Falcons on “Monday Night Football.”
Falcons’ inactive players:
Eagles’ inactive players:
The Eagles are favorites to defeat the Falcons, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024.
Here are the USA TODAY Sports’ expert picks for the game:
Monday night’s matchup is the 38th all-time matchup between the Eagles and Falcons, including playoff games.
The Eagles hold a 21-15-1 series edge — including a 3-1 record in postseason matchups — in a series that dates back to the Falcons’ inaugural season of 1966. For you NFL history buffs out there, the head coaches for that first Eagles-Falcons matchup were Joe Kuharich (Eagles) and Norb Hecker (Falcons), and the starting quarterbacks were Norm Snead (Eagles) and Randy Johnson (Falcons).
The biggest matchup between the two franchises occurred in the 2004 NFC championship game, a 27-10 Eagles win that ended a three-year losing streak in conference championship games. In the 2017 playoffs, the Eagles defeated the Falcons in the divisional playoffs en route to winning Super Bowl 52.
For those who enjoy testing their NFL wits with Pro Football Reference’s immaculate grids, there have been a number of notable players who played for both teams. Pro Football Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey played 10 years with the Falcons and then his final three NFL seasons with the Eagles, including as a member of the Philadelphia team that advanced to Super Bowl XV. Quarterback Michael Vick was the Falcons’ quarterback in that aforementioned 2004 NFC title game, but also started a playoff game for the Eagles during the 2010 season. Seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones played a decade in Atlanta, and had his final season (2023) in Philadelphia. — Jim Reineking
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The NFL’s top 18 players in average annual salary are all quarterbacks, according to OverTheCap.com. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the league’s highest-paid player on the season’s opening Sunday, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the first non-quarterback on the highest-paid list after striking a four-year, $140 million contract extension this offseason.
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