close
close

Saquon Barkley Takes Blame for Eagles Loss: ‘I Dropped the Ball. I Let My Team Down’ | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats & Rumors

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 16: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs off the field during halftime against the Atlanta Falcons during a football game at Lincoln Financial Field on September 16, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

While the early results for Saquon Barkley as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles have been overwhelmingly positive, the two-time Pro Bowler’s dropped pass late in the fourth quarter Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons proved to be extremely costly.

After the Eagles’ 22-21 loss, Barkley took responsibility for not making the catch on third-and-3 that would have secured the victory for Philadelphia.

“I dropped the ball,” he told reporters. “I let my team down today. The defense shouldn’t have been put in that position.”

The Eagles led 21-18 with 1:46 left and tried to run out the clock. They rushed Barkley out of the backfield for a quick pass that would have allowed him to get upfield for a first down or a touchdown to secure the win, but the ball hit his hands and fell incomplete.

NFL on ESPN @ESPNNFL

SAQUON SAID THIS 🤯

Peyton Manning couldn’t believe it. pic.twitter.com/zqSJ2pYhlo

After the Eagles settled for a field goal, Kirk Cousins ​​led the Falcons 70 yards in six plays, capping it off with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Drake London. Younghoe Koo fired an extra point from 47 yards for the lead after London was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Philadelphia’s last attempt to get into field goal position failed when Jessie Bates III intercepted a pass from Jalen Hurts intended for DeVonta Smith with 19 seconds left.

Even though Barkley should have caught the ball to end the game, head coach Nick Sirianni deserves some blame for the decision to pass in that situation and then shoot a field goal on fourth down.

The Falcons had no timeouts prior to the third-down play, so even a failed run would have run the clock to about 1:05 remaining. The Eagles could have run a play on fourth down to try to score. Even if it failed, it would have taken more time off the clock and forced the Falcons to drive 50 yards to get into position for a tying field goal.

Looking at the probability of winning, the Eagles made a bad decision by punting and taking a six-point lead in that situation, because a touchdown from the other team is still better than a touchdown.

Adding to the confusion of the third-down play call is the fact that the Eagles were virtually unstoppable running the ball in this game, finishing with 186 yards on 37 carries and converting the tush push twice on their previous drive.

Since only three yards were needed, it’s reasonable to assume Hurts could have gotten it with two chances to move the ball.

Even with hindsight, the final offensive sequence was confusing for the Eagles, distracting them from what had worked for most of the game.

Barkley had another strong performance despite the drop, finishing with 116 yards from scrimmage on 26 touches in the loss.

The Eagles missed a golden opportunity to start 2-0 and will look to get back on track in Week 3 against the surprising New Orleans Saints.