Saquon Barkley’s dropped pass proved to be more costly than the Eagles could have imagined.
The former Giants star couldn’t haul in an easy pass from Jalen Hurts late in their “Monday Night Football” battle with the Falcons, thus stopping the clock and forcing the Eagles to kick a field goal instead of continuing to drain the remaining time.
The Falcons marched the other way to defeat the Eagles, 22-21, in a comeback that left the Lincoln Financial Field crowd stunned.
The Eagles appeared to be on their way to ice the game with just under two minutes left on the clock, when Hurts looked to Barkley on third-and-3 for a pass.
The ball hit Barkley right in the fingertips and he couldn’t come up with the catch, proving to be a big blow as both the clock stopped and the Eagles sent out their kicking team.
It allowed the Falcons to get the ball with 1:39 left on the clock.
Kirk Cousins took the Falcons 70 yards down the field and capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Drake London to tie the game at 21.
Despite London being called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed the extra point kick back 15 yards, kicker Younghoe Koo made the kick to put the Falcons ahead by one with 34 seconds left in the game.
Hurts was then picked off with 27 seconds left to seal the Falcons win.
“I let my team down today. Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position,” Barkley told reporters after the loss. “Make that catch and the game is over.”
Barkley, who signed a three-year deal with the Eagles in free agency to leave the Giants, finished the game with 22 carries for 95 yards.
He had four catches for 21 yards in the loss that moved the Eagles to 1-1 on the season.
“It definitely sucks. Any loss sucks, but the game came down to a few plays,” Barkley said. “But it hurts a little more when you’re the one making a mistake on that play.”