The Eagles could have pulled off a daring escape with the game hanging in the balance and the Falcons out of time outs—if Saquon Barkley had snagged the ball. But, he didn’t.
After the game, Barkley didn’t shy away. He took it like a champ.
“I dropped the ball,” Barkley confessed to reporters. “I let my team down today. Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. If I make the catch, the game’s over. Time to relax, go back to my old habits, and just get back to work.”
Play Call Question Mark
Did he second-guess the decision to throw in that critical moment?
“No, once I knew it, I thought it was a great play call,” Barkley said. “I just gotta make that catch.”
The What-If Game
Kudos to Barkley for shouldering the blame. But realistically, the possibility of a drop had to be factored into that play call. It was third and three. They could have run the ball—twice.
As Scott Van Pelt suggested during the ESPN post-game analysis, the Eagles could have run the tush push twice, chewing up significant time off the clock if they didn’t get the three yards on the first try. This would have left the Falcons buried deep inside their own 10 needing a field goal just to force overtime.
Sirianni’s Hubris
It’s easy to understand why Coach Sirianni might have felt invincible. It seemed like everything was breaking right for the Eagles. The game felt secure, sealed, and delivered. But, alas, the Eagles didn’t lock it down.
And then, it unraveled in the most unforeseen reversal through 32 games of the 2024 regular season.
From Highs to Lows
Last year, the Eagles soared to a 10-1 start. Now, they’re sitting at 1-1, staring down the barrel of trips to New Orleans and Tampa Bay before catching an early bye.
Win the next two, and this hiccup might be a distant memory. Drop one or both, and Philadelphia will find itself in a quagmire much earlier than the storm clouds of 2023.
In this roller roller-coaster of a season, there’s no room for complacency. As they say in the gridiron world, "It’s not over till the final whistle blows."
