The Philadelphia Eagles lost a heartbreaker Monday night to the Atlanta Falcons 22-21. That heartbreak, though, could have been avoided if Philadelphia converted this one play.
On a third and three from the Atlanta 10-yard line with under two minutes to play, Jalen Hurts threw the ball outside the hash marks to running back Saquon Barkley who dropped it. If Barkley caught the ball, the Eagles would have converted the third down and, because Atlanta used up all its timeouts, would be able to kneel the ball and secure the win.
Instead, Philly had to settle for a field goal, giving the Falcons a chance to drive down the field and win the game. They did just that.
This Saquon Barkley drop left the door open for the Falcons. They then drove right down the field and scored a game winning touchdown pic.twitter.com/REEv3Gkpgy
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 17, 2024
Barkley blamed himself for the Eagles loss in a postgame interview.
“I dropped the ball. I let my team down today," he said. "The defense should not have been put in that position. It sucks.”
“I dropped the ball. I let my team down today. The defense should not have been put in that position.”
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 17, 2024
“It sucks.”
Saquon Barkley on dropping the pass that would’ve sealed the Eagles win. pic.twitter.com/3XG8Rj6MDd
Following the Eagles field goal, the Falcons drove 70 yards on six plays in 65 seconds, stunning the Eagles and their fans. A Drake London touchdown on third and five tied the game at 21 before Younghoe Koo made the extra point. Atlanta sealed the comeback on an interception by safety Jesse Bates with 27 seconds left.
Barkley had 95 yards on 22 carries and added 21 receiving yards. While he may feel like he lost the Eagles this game, he was a huge reason why Philadelphia won its Week 1 game.
Playing in the NFL's first ever game in Brazil, Barkley scored three touchdowns, including one through the air, and gave the Eagles the lead each time. He had 109 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in the Eagles' 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Philadelphia will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints' high flying offense on Sunday, looking to hand New Orleans its first loss of the year.
