Eagles’ Saquon Barkley Speaks Out on Final Third-Down Play Call in Week 2 Loss

Getty Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley liked the play call when the team faced third-and-3 with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Philadelphia Eagles only needed to convert a third-and-3 to improve to 2-0 this season. Instead, the Eagles left the media and fans second guessing after their gut-wrenching 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. However, there wasn’t much second guessing from running back Saquon Barkley.

The 27-year-old dropped the third-and-3 attempt with 1:46 remaining in the game. A running play instead of the pass would have guaranteed 40 seconds come off the clock and might not have left the Falcons with enough time for a comeback.

But after the game, Barkley blamed himself, not the play call.

“I dropped the ball. Let my team down today,” Saquon Barkley told the media. “Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. If I make the catch, game’s over.

“I thought it was a great play call. I just got to make the catch.”

Barkley’s drop forced the Eagles to send the field goal unit onto the field for fourth-and-3. Jake Elliott’s successful attempt gave the Eagles a 6-point lead, but the Falcons were getting the ball back with 1:39 left in regulation.

The Falcons only needed 65 seconds to drive 70 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

The Eagles had one final opportunity to retake the lead. But quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception with 27 seconds left.

Saquon Barkley Drop Leads to Eagles Week 2 Collapse

Barkley literally dropped the ball.

Hurts’ pass on third-and-3 bounced right off Barkley’s hands. Had he caught it, the Eagles would have had the ball first-and-goal with about 1:40 left in regulation.

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The Falcons didn’t have any timeouts left. So, the Eagles would have only needed to knee the ball a couple times to seal the victory.

Instead, Barkley’s drop led to another late-game collapse for the Eagles. The Philadelphia defense allowed the Falcons to march 70 yards in just six plays. Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins had the Falcons in the red zone after only three pass attempts.

Even though Barkley told reporters it was him, not the play call, that cost the Eagles, many pundits questioned the decision to attempt a throw on third-and-3.

Again, even if a running play doesn’t pick up the first down, the Falcons would have had about 40 fewer seconds with the ball.

“A ‘perfect’ call also includes execution,” argued NFL insider Josina Anderson. “Of course I agree the ball should’ve been caught, my point is Moore could’ve called a play with a higher probability of being executed* for a positive yardage, in that situation.”

Pundits also second-guessed the play call because Barkley has recorded 16 drops since the start of the 2021 NFL season. No running back has more during that time.

Eagles Losers in 7 of Past 9 Games

Of course, the Eagles could have avoided any second guessing had their defense made one final stop against the Falcons. But similar to last season, Philadelphia’s defense crumbled in the two-minute drill.

The Eagles secondary played such a prevent defense, they weren’t doing much to defend the sidelines during Atlanta’s 2-minute drill. As a result, Cousins found holes in the Philadelphia defense for big chunks to quickly move down the field.

Including the playoffs, the Eagles have now lost seven of their last nine games after starting the 2023 season 10-1.

They lost four of those seven contests by double digits. But in the other three, the Eagles gave up the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

Head coach Nick Sirianni will have to get his team to regroup quickly, as the Eagles are set to visit the 2-0 New Orleans Saints during Week 3.