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PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley had at least a first down, maybe even a touchdown, in his grasp that would have sealed the Eagles’ win in their home opener.
Barkley instead bobbled a reception and couldn’t hold on to Jalen Hurts’ short pass. It was one giant drop on third down at Atlanta’s 10-yard line with 1:39 left in the game that stopped the clock late and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal.
Barkley’s botch was the opening the Atlanta Falcons needed to pull off the stunner with the kind of flawless drive the Eagles couldn’t duplicate. Kirk Cousins capped the winning drive with a touchdown pass to Drake London and Atlanta stunned Philadelphia 22-21 in its home opener on Monday night.
“I dropped the ball,” Barkley said plainly. “I thought it was a great play call. I just have to catch it.”
Barkley and Hurts, who had put the Eagles (1-1) ahead 18-15 on a 1-yard tush-push touchdown in the fourth, had a brief post-game conversation in the locker room.
The message was simple: Hurts still had Barkley’s back.
“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 rather than the Eagles going for the score 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 touchdown and see if they could drive the field. And they did.”
With a three-year deal for $26 million guaranteed, Barkley is the highest-paid running back in franchise history. The 27-year-old former New York Giant did have a knack for dropping the ball when he played for 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 scored, the Eagles still had 34 seconds to at least drive into field goal territory for Elliott. Hurts instead had his pass picked off by Jessie Bates III that ended all hope of Philadelphia’s own amazing 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.”
Barkley ran for 95 yards in his home debut at week after a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. Led by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, Eagles fans went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive.
Barkley’s steady success wouldn’t stick.
The defence couldn’t smother the long play against Cousins and the defence for all 60 minutes.
Under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the Eagles established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Cousins, signed to a four-year, $180 million contract in the off-season, came alive in the second half. Cousins connected with Darnell Mooney on a 41-yard TD pass that gave Atlanta a 15-10 lead. Cousins later hit Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
“We can be beat, especially if we don’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said.
With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, DeVonta Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score. Sirianni said he wasn’t sure how long Brown would be out.
“Of course, he’s definitely missed,” Hurts said. “It doesn’t change the trust I have in everybody else to step up. We just didn’t meet the moment. It wasn’t for us tonight.”
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