Saquon Barkley had a chance to get at least a first down, or even a touchdown, which could have secured the Eagles’ win in their home opener.
Instead, Barkley dropped a pass from Jalen Hurts. This happened on third down at Atlanta’s 10-yard line with 1:46 left in the game, stopping the clock and forcing the Eagles to settle for a field goal.
This mistake allowed the Atlanta Falcons to pull off a surprising win with a perfect drive that the Eagles couldn’t match. Kirk Cousins ended the winning drive with a touchdown pass to Drake London, and the Falcons surprised Philadelphia with a 22-21 victory in their home opener on Monday night.
“I dropped the ball,” Barkley said plainly. “Let my team down today. Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. If I make the catch, game’s over.”
Barkley and Hurts, who had put the Eagles ahead 18-15 with a 1-yard touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter, talked briefly in the locker room after the game.
The message was clear: Hurts still supported Barkley. “He’s going to trust me every time in that situation,” Barkley said.
After Barkley’s drop, Jake Elliott kicked a 28-yard field goal instead of the Eagles going for it on fourth down.
“We wanted to go up six points. It didn’t work,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I wanted them to be down and see if they could drive the field. And they did.”
With a three-year deal worth $26 million guaranteed, Barkley is the highest-paid running back in franchise history. The 27-year-old former New York Giant had a history of dropping the ball during his time with the NFC East rival.
“I trust him every day of the week to make a play,” Hurts said. “Just like everybody else. We’ll be better for it.”
Maybe next time, the Eagles will simply trust Barkley enough to just rush for the first down.
Even after London beat cornerback Darius Slay and scored, the Eagles still had 34 seconds to at least move into field goal range for Elliott. Hurts, however, had his pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III, ending any chance of a Philadelphia comeback.
“The intent of that play was to go down the field,” Sirianni said. “He took a chance and the guy made a good play.”
Just like Barkley, Slay faced criticism for the loss after allowing London to score the winning touchdown.
“That’s on me Philly!! I owe yall one. DAMN!!!!!” Slay wrote on social media.
A year after starting 10-1, the Eagles are now 1-1, with upcoming games against undefeated teams New Orleans and Tampa Bay.
Barkley ran for 95 yards in his home debut, following a game where he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive ended without Barkley getting the ball.
They cheered loudly, led by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, when he had two consecutive 9-yard runs to start the second drive. However, Barkley’s consistent performance didn’t last.
The defense couldn’t stop the long plays against Cousins and his team throughout the game.
With new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the Eagles developed a tendency to allow long drives that result in field goals instead of touchdowns.
Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22, and 34 yards, with the last one giving Atlanta a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles had managed to hold the Packers to just three field goals when they reached inside the 20-yard line.
