PHILADELPHIA (AP) — 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 1:46 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. “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 on a 1-yard tush-push touchdown in the fourth, had a brief postgame 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.
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.”