Falcons - Eagles Stock Market: Barkley's Blunder Turns The Tide

The Eagles had Monday night's game in Atlanta under control until a last-minute collapse.

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles were a simple pass in the flat away from 2-0.

More so, the football was headed to their best player on an A.J. Brown-less day, running back Saquon Barkley, who handled all four previous targets that went in his direction on Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons.

Had Barkley reeled in the catch, it was first down with 100 seconds-or-do to go with Atlanta having no timeouts.

Instead the marquee free-agent acquisition, who rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries and added another 21 in the passing game failed to handle the throw, leaving Jake Elliott to deposit a 28-yard chip shot and giving the Eagles a still-precarious 21-15 lead with 1:39 left.

The Falcons needed only 65 seconds to erase that advantage and steal the game.

THE BULLS

ALMOST CLOSERS - The Eagles ran 27 plays vs. four for Atlanta at one point in the fourth quarter to nearly close the deal. The biggest play came on a 4th-and-1 play at the Falcons' 39-yard line when C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who had not been tackling well, turned into Ronnie Lott for a moment stoning the 215-pound Robinson. Had Barkley caught the pass, the Gardner-Johnson stop would have been a headliner.

QB RUN GAME - Jalen Hurts ran it 13 times for 85 yards and often willed the Eagles' offense to the success it did have without Brown, who missed the game with a strained hamstring.

SOME SITUATIONAL DEFENSE - The Eagles held Atlanta to 2-of-9 on third downs and 0-for-2 in the red zone until the final drive where everything went sideways.

UNIQUE TRASH TALK: With The Falcons driving late in the second quarter, C.J. Gardner-Johnson got under Ray-Ray McCloud's skin by pulling on his mouthpiece, and the Falcons' receiver got flagged for a 15-yard unnecessary conduct penalty.

CJGJ pulled his mouth piece off 🤣 pic.twitter.com/hRblJ0IJwS

— Barstool Philly (@BarstoolPhilly) September 17, 2024

THE BEARS

BARKLEY IN BIG MOMENT - Barkley had been great for the first 118 minutes of his Eagles' career so Kellen Moore gave him a chance to win the game on 3rd-and-3 at the Atlanta 10-yard with 1:46 left.

Hurts put the ball on the RB for what would have been at least a first down but Barkley dropped giving the Falcons a 1:39 to turn a 21-15 deficit into a 22-21 win. It's hard to argue with the Eagles putting the football in what has been their best player's hands but Barkley failed.

ILLEGALLY DOWNFIELD - Too often in the Nick Sirianni era the Eagles get downfield in the quick passing game too soon. Tonight, that was the case with both Cam Jurgens on two occasions and Lane Johnson. It's generally a timing issue, and one that needs more time on task because it's been a theme far too often.

QB FLUSH - Hurts' penchant to flush left or right instead of climbing the pocket remains a big issue. Cutting the field in half when you don't need to is limiting the Eagles' offense.

.@Eagles @JalenHurts on 4th & 3. Stayed in the pocket and waited for the lanes to open. Good awareness; good decision making #FlyEaglesFly #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/8pWWbg1quh

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 17, 2024

When Hurts did climb, good things happened, including a 4th-and-3 conversion that set up the first TD scored against the Falcons this season.

TACKLING - Missed tackles were a point of emphasis in practice after a poor performance in that area during Week 1 and things didn't improve enough. Gardner-Johnson's effort on Darnell Mooney's 42-yard TD catch being the worst offense.

MORE NFL: Eagles Collapse Late, Lose to Atlanta Falcons, 22-21, in Home Opener