In his second NFL season, former Gadsden City High School standout Darnell Mooney was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2021. But in the past two seasons combined, Mooney didn’t have 1,000 receiving yards as injuries and spotty quarterback play depressed his production.
That didn’t keep the Atlanta Falcons from signing Mooney to a three-year, $39 million contract in the offseason as a free agent. In his first game for Atlanta, Mooney had one reception for 15 yards in an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 8.
But on Monday night, Mooney’s signing paid off for the Falcons as Atlanta rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 22-21.
Mooney’s first reception of the game was a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins as the Falcons took a 15-10 lead with 1:21 left in the third quarter.
After Philadelphia drove 70 yards on 17 plays for a touchdown and, after stopping Atlanta on downs at the Falcons 39-yard line, added a field goal, Atlanta got the football at its 30-yard line trailing by six with 1:39 to play. Mooney had back-to-back receptions of 21 and 26 yards, setting up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to wide receiver Drake London with 34 seconds to play.
After an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against London, Younghoe Koo made a 48-yard extra point to give the Falcons a one-point lead.
Atlanta safety Jessie Bates III ended the game when he intercepted Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts at the Falcons 32 with 19 seconds to play.
Mooney had three receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown. He hadn’t had that many receiving yards in a game since Oct. 2, 2022, when he had four receptions for 94 yards in the Chicago Bears’ 20-12 loss to the New York Giants.
Six other players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during the Atlanta-Philadelphia game:
· Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) started at safety for the Eagles. Blankenship led Philadelphia with 10 tackles.
· Eagles defensive back James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Landon Dickerson (Alabama) started at left guard for the Eagles.
· Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll (Auburn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams (Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) started at defensive end for the Eagles. Huff did not record any stats.
· Jalen Hurts (Alabama) started at quarterback for the Eagles. Hurts completed 23-of-30 passes for 183 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran 13 times for 85 yards and one touchdown. Hurts threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeVonta Smith as Philadelphia took a 7-3 lead with 5:15 left in the first half and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak as the Eagles went in front 18-15 with 6:47 remaining in the game.
· Falcons running back Jase McClellan (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Falcons linebacker Monty Rice (James Clemens) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Eagles cornerback Eli Ricks (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· DeVonta Smith (Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Smith had seven receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown. Smith caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts as Philadelphia took a 7-3 lead with 5:15 left in the first half.
· Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen (Alabama) did not record any stats.
· Eagles defensive tackle Byron Young (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
Atlanta (1-1) plays the Kansas City Chiefs at 7:20 p.m. CDT Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Philadelphia (1-1) plays the New Orleans Saints at noon Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith catches a touchdown pass during an NFL game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
