‘Big win ... we knew we were capable of doing it’

PHILADELPHIA – Here’s what the Falcons had to say after the 22-21 win over the Eagles on Monday:

Drake London, wide receiver

On the final drive: “Just execution on all levels. We were able to go out there and execute the plan.”

On the TD catch: “It was just an out route. Darius Slay is a great corner. Very, very savvy. Caught him on what he thought it was and I was able to get out there and Kirk put it on the money.”

On the big win: “This is my first Monday Night Football (game). I can’t remember like a comeback win like this in a minute and to be a part of it like that was something special. It was really cool.”

On his unsportsmanlike penalty: “My reaction was that I did a dumb thing with the unsportsmanlike penalty. Thank god that Koo is an amazing kicker. He sealed the deal. But that’s what I was thinking about after the flag was thrown. I can’t let my self flash out like that.”

On quarterback Kirk Cousins and game-winning drive: “It says a lot. Again, I’ve always have had praise for him. He just does the things right. To have a quarterback out there who does the right things and has that confidence instilled in us, that’s huge.”

On the rest of the offense: “Not just Kirk, everybody in the offense was like, let’s go. Once Saquon dropped that ball and gave us an opportunity, that’s all we needed.”

On if this was a statement win: “That we could go out here and play. There are a lot of doubters and naysayers. I don’t want to say that we shut them down because we’ve got a lot of work to do. At the end of the day, we got a win and we’re going to build on it.”

On the celebration on the sideline: “It was amazing. That’s why I put my hands on my head. I thought I was going to get a celebration (penalty).”

More on the offense: “It definitely was a better representation of what this offense can be,” London said. “I still don’t think we have gotten in our bag as some would say. I just think at the end of the day we went out there executed the game plan.”

Jessie Bates III, safety

On the big interception: “Anytime you get in this critical times, critical parts of the game. You lean on your players. Where is the money at on the field. So that’s where my eyes were at. He inside released. I knew the concepts they were running, he just broke out and I was reading his eyes. Went and played the ball.”

On breaking up the pass to Devonta Smith: “We were in cover zero. There was a lot of space out there. I was late getting out of break. I just played his hands and I punched the ball out.”

On the vibe this season: “It’s easy to play for Rah. He takes care of us. When it’s time to work, it’s time to work. But when it’s time to step back and focus on the mental part of it, I think that’s what Rah does best. That makes you play harder, I think. It makes you want to play hard for Rah. I’m just happy that he’s my head coach.”

Grady Jarrett, defensive tackle

On the comeback: “You can’t ever count us out.”

On the win: “We’ll enjoy the night. We’re certainly going to have a fun flight back. We have a quick turnaround. We have to get ready for another primetime game. We’re excited for that show down and to get it.”

More the win: “Big win. Big win. We knew we were capable of doing it. We are just going to continue to grind. Take the things that we struggled with in this game and just continue to plow. But I mean it’s awesome to come of this with this (win).”

On stopping the run game: “We were just trying to game discipline. Have everybody do their job. Just win at the point of attack. Everybody just scrambled to the ball. They’ve got three plays off one play. Whether if its hand the ball off, throw a quick pass or (the quarterback run). So, everybody had to be super disciplined. I thought we did a good job. We can always do better. But today we did just enough to get the win.”

Darnell Mooney, wide receiver

On the TD: “When I got close to the end zone, I was like (expletive), I’m going to score. That’s how it was.”

On the rushing attack: “It’s hard not to sit there and watch. Sometimes I’m on the back side of the play so I can look at the big screen and see how things go. It’s good to have that. It’s going to help us down the road. You (must) have a running game to get deep in the playoffs in December. It’s good to have that early on.”

On the final drive: “Kirk knew what we wanted to do. We were confident that we could go down there and score. We don’t do too many two-minute drills during the week. It’s something we did in training camp.”

On what the locker room was like: “It was fun. It was fun to be a part of a win. A lot of water was being thrown. It was a lot of fun.”

On getting his first TD with the Falcons: “It’s always good to get into the endzone. Always happy to get in there. Hopefully, I can get in there some more times.”

On the flip: “It was just a random moment. Just doing it.”

Matthew Judon, outside linebacker

On the defense: “They were running the ball. We have to stop that. When it mattered, we clutched up. So, that’s good. We’ll go back and watch the film and see what we need to improve on.”

On the incomplete pass by the Eagles: “I appreciated that. It let us get off the field. Get the ball back to the offense and see what they can do.”

On if he watched the game-winning drive: “I learned a long time ago that if you play defense, you only play defense. You can go out there look at what they are doing. I watched when Drake (London) scored. That’s a big-time player. That was a big-time play.”

On how big was the win: “It just put a win in a column. We have to go out there and do it again. We have to fix the things that hurt us, the kind of bleed us. We have to improve on the things we did well. Next week we’ve got another primetime game. A squad this is coming in here 2-0.”

Kyle Pitts, tight end

On his return to Philadelphia: “It was good, man. Came out of here with the win. It was my first time playing here and I’m 1-0 here, so that’s pretty cool.”

On his play: “Just trying to contribute wherever I can.”

Jake Matthews, left tackle

On the final drive: “It was just very smooth. (Cousins) just executed and we did everything that we’d been preparing to and just did it really well. Kirk did an amazing job. The line held up and guys got open and it just went the way you drew it up.”

On how this year compares to the recent seasons: “That’s a tough question because I have seen a lot. I don’t know, I’m having a lot of fun this year. I really am. We have a great group and a great leader in Raheem. And just having Kirk here. As I’m getting into my later years, I guess, it’s been a lot of fun. I love the guys in our locker room and our offense. Just the unselfishness and willingness to win any way. That’s special. You don’t see that a lot and I really enjoy that.”

A.J. Terrell, cornerback

On how this season compares to others: “I want to say the culture swing, a lot of new pieces added to the team. Then just the way we attack meetings, practice, just being able to transfer it over to the field. Just having fun, understanding what we have. It’s the chemistry, a new beginning and everything feels fresh.”

Justin Simmons, safety

On the win going into a short-week: “This will help a lot. Because by no means did we play perfect football. We came in here and said we had to play good defense. At times we did. We were a little leaky at times as well. You know, things that correctable. Obviously, the correctable things are lot better when you are looking at the tape with a win rather than a loss.”

On the play of Jessie Bates: “He’s unbelievable. He’s a huge reason why I came here to play. Having the opportunity to share the field with him. He’s always played great ball throughout his career. To be able to go out there and know that you have a partner in him…to be able to shut down his side of the field is huge. It helps our defense. Plays that might not even show in the stat book. I’m proud to be able to work with him.”

AJC staff writers Ken Sugiura and Gabe Burns contributed to this report.

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