Is Kirk Cousins damaged goods? While many decried taking QB Michael Penix with the first pick in the draft, perhaps the Atlanta brain trust knew something about Cousins, who hardly looked fully recovered from the Achilles tendon tear last autumn in the opener vs. the Steelers. The Falcons were predictable on offense, but that also goes back to the new coaching staff, and questions abound regarding new HC Raheem Morris, who has yet to win a game (preseason included). Meanwhile the Eagles were flying pretty high in the Brazil opener vs. the pack, with Saquon Barkley making an immediate impact to the offense, and the Philly offense looks much further along behind Jalen Hurts and friends. Play Eagles

These teams’ respective Week 1 performances look even more significant and telling eight days later, and while many kinks can be worked out after kickoff week, the Falcons appear to have more than we expected – starting with Kirk Cousins’ mobility issues, which have made Atlanta’s offense one-dimensional. The Eagles, meanwhile, appear to be revitalized behind Saquon Barkley, who takes even more pressure off Jalen Hurts with his burst out of the backfield. Even without AJ Brown (a significant loss), it will be a struggle for the Falcons to keep pace offensively. I overreacted to Week 1 in a few situations this week, but that's not the case here. This could hit -6 before kickoff.

The Falcons looked like a bit of a mess last week and, although it's a mistake to read too much into a Week 1 performance, this doesn't set up as a great bounce-back spot. The Eagles were uneven in their season-opening win over the Packers, but they should also be improved and they are fast starters of late. Philadelphia is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 September games.

Philly goes into battle Monday with one arm behind its proverbial back without the downfield threat of A.J. Brown. Brown has contributed nearly 90 yards per game and is 2nd in the league in creating 25+ yard receptions, behind only Tyreek Hill. Look for Philly to lean into Saquon Barkley as a runner/receiver plus a short controlled passing game, instead of hunting the big play against the talented Falcons secondary. Combine that with a positive Eagles game state and it's a strong recipe for a QB yardage under prop,

I’m banking on DG having a nice night. His OC employs the TE and AJ Brown is out.

Ray-Ray McCloud has appeared in 78 career games and his 7 target, 4 reception, 52 receiving yards was the third highest yardage total of his career. McCloud led the team in targets despite playing only 30 snaps (roughly 50% of the teams offensive snaps). Tonights matchup against the Eagles will also be a lot tougher considering he will be facing one of the top nickel corners in the league in Avonte Maddox. I believe there is a very good chance that McCloud's Week 1 performance ends up his best stat line of the season.

Was hoping this line would kick back up to +6, but I'm fine taking it at the current number. The Eagles are the better team (even without A.J. Brown), but this is too many points against a Falcons team that should compete and should be able to move the ball on the ground. The lack of A.J. Brown is pretty key here. I don't think Cousins has to be great in this one, but we do need to see a slightly better version of him than last week and I think that's exactly what we'll see.

The Eagles have a massive edge in the trenches with one of the best offensive lines in front of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, going up against one of the bottom-10 defensive fronts from the Falcons. On the other side, I have questions about Kirk Cousins' mobility against what should be a strong Eagles pass rush at home. Even with AJ Brown out, I still set this line at -7.

Saquon Barkley ran 25 routes in Week 1, hauling in two catches for 23 yards. He should be more involved in the passing game Monday due to A.J. Brown's absence and the Falcons' injuries at linebacker. Look for Barkley to amass at least 20 receiving yards.

The Eagles ordinarily have an extremely condensed target distribution with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith receiving the majority of the targets, followed by Dallas Goedert who is the only other Philadelphia pass catcher thats maintains a consistent target floor. AJ Brown has been ruled out of tonight's game and I expect Goedert to be the biggest beneficiary. Goedert has elite route participation and first year Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore loves to utilize his tight ends. I also view this as a plus match up against a Falcons defense that surrendered the 4th most yards per game to the position last season.

The Falcons defense proved they are going to be a formidable unit this season. Despite Kirk Cousins and the offense conceding bad field position throughout the game, Atlanta's defense was able to hold the Steelers to six field goals. Safety Justin Simmons can make things tough on the Eagles passing game without AJ Brown, and I expect their defense to take a "bend, don't break" approach. This should give Elliot his field goal opportunities. Converting at a 93.8% clip, Elliot was the league's 6th most accurate kicker in 2023.

Smith clipped this number eight times last year, and the majority of those performances came amid the injury-related absence of TE Dallas Goedert. With stalwart WR A.J. Brown sidelined for Monday's game, look for Smith to capitalize on the increased target share, even against an Atlanta defense that will know it's coming.

Linebacker Kaden Elliss wears the green dot for Atlanta; he was the only Falcons linebacker to play 100 percent of the snaps in Week 1. Troy Anderson and Nate Landman rotated in, playing 46 percent and 54 percent of the snaps respectively. Landman is out with a calf/quad injury. Elliss finished with nine combined tackles against a run-heavy Steelers attack. Atlanta held Pittsburgh to 3.3 yards per carry so I'm not expecting DC Jimmy Lake to switch things up. Look for a heavy dose of the ground game from Philly, which should lead to Elliss clearing this prop.

The Falcons offense looked liked not much has changed in Week 1, so there should be opportunities for the Eagles to play from ahead. Steelers backs had 26 carries against the Falcons defense last week despite not being as effective as Barkley should be behind this O-line. Barkley received 24 carries in his Eagles debut as Philly won a back-and-forth game against the Packers, and with no A.J. Brown this week, a similar workload should be in store no matter the game environment.

I will be betting 1U on every Primetime Under this season, as they have hit at a 60.3% clip over the past 5 years. The Eagles will be without top wideout A.J Brown, which is a significant loss to this offense. Philadelphia funnel their target share heavily to Brown and WR Devonta Smith. Without Brown, Philly should look to go run heavy. The Falcons offense looked out of sorts in Week 1. Their play calling was ugly and predictable. QB Kirk Cousins looked rusty coming off of his achilles injury last season. I expect the Falcons to lean on their much-improved defense for the first few weeks, while the offense works out the kinks. If the Eagles can create pressure, Cousins will struggle again.

Kirk Cousins still doesn't seem to have his legs under him off that Achilles' injury and doesn't have a true big-play WR like he did with the Vikings. Drake London is a good player but not really that guy. Darnell Mooney can run but, you know, not catch that well. Ray-Ray McCloud? No-no. Long story short, if the Falcons have a reception over 34.5 yards tonight, someone likely broke several tackles. But their offense was so vanilla in Week 1. Cousins’ longest completion was just 20 yards, third-lowest among all starting quarterbacks.

With AJ Brown sideline and a new offensive coordinator who employs the tight end, I project DG at 4.5 receptions. So let’s grab the 3.5 while it still lasts

No AJ Brown means more Goedert and an opportunity for Dotson. This is a fairly attainable number that should climb as the game draws near. It’s better value than the receptions at this point

Right before the season, the Eagles sent a third-round pick to Washington for Jahan Dotson. The move could pay off Monday. With A.J. Brown (hamstring) sidelined, Dotson should play a full complement of snaps after running 24 routes in Week 1. Though he did not make a catch against Green Bay, Dotson worked as the clear No. 3 wideout behind Brown and Devonta Smith. Another Philly wideout, Johnny Wilson, might be forced to sit with a hamstring injury. That leaves Smith, Dotson and Britain Covey as the only healthy wideouts.

Originally I had this game 27-21 Eagles but without their top wide receiver, A.J. Brown, I think it will be even closer. I expect Atlanta's offense to improve over last week and feature a heavy dose of star running back Bijan Robinson. An upset wouldn't shock me but an Eagles blowout would. Philadelphia wins but it's VERY close: 24-23.

Kirk Cousins has limited mobility at this stage as he recovers from his Achilles injury in 2023, so look for his passes to be mostly short and quick. Pitts is used to catching passes fairly close to the line of scrimmage (thanks Arthur Smith offense of the last few years). Last week, Pitts lined up in the slot more than 60% of the time, which is the same area from which Jayden Reed torched the Eagles defense for 138 receiving yards and a touchdown. I like the Falcons tight end over 50 yards on Monday night.

Cousins really didn't look like himself in Week 1. He looked old. His pass velocity wasn't sharp. His offensive line struggled against a really good Steelers pass rush, which in turn made Cousins get the ball out quickly. I would expect the Eagles to be a tough matchup for the Falcons offensive line and thus for Cousins, generating more of the same. The Eagles under Vic Fangio should continue deploying zone coverage to deter offenses from throwing deep. And who on the Falcons offense is capable of catching a pass for 35-plus yards? If you have a hard time answering, then you should jump on this bet.

Kirk Cousins' 3-10 straight-up record on Monday Night Football isn't super-relevant, but his apparent lack of mobility is a big deal. With Cousins returning from a torn Achilles, Atlanta relied on the pistol formation in Week 1, reducing the amount of movement required by Cousins. The veteran threw two interceptions as Atlanta mustered 10 points at home. Now the Falcons travel to Philadelphia, which has a reinvigorated offense keyed by Saquon Barkley. It should be a smooth night for Jalen Hurts: The Falcons ranked 29th in pass rush win rate vs. the Steelers. Hurts turned the ball over three times in Brazil, yet Philly still won 34-29. Look for a cleaner performance Monday night.

Saquan Barkley got to clean up with three TDs in Brazil, but don’t forget about what Hurts and the tush push lives. Hurts still ran the ball 13 times in the opener, so the volume is there, and he scores on the ground at an historic rate for QBs. He’s the only ever to score 10 or more rushing TDs in three straight seasons and he produced a whopping 15 of them a year ago. His power TDs tend to fire up the home crowd, and in prime time I could see the coaching staff leaning into it. Hurts has 13 rushing TDS in his last 17 home games including 5 of the last 7 games at The Linc.

Right now, Kirk Cousins isn't giving the Falcons the best chance to win. His lack of mobility has made the offense very much one-dimensional and running through RB Bijan Robinson. Philly's offense is multifaceted and explosive, and they're coming off of an extended break after playing on Friday Night. Definitely not a great spot for the Falcons here in the Eagles home opener.