Getty Image / Tim Nwachukwu
Saquon Barkley was off to a great start as a Philadelphia Eagle through the first 118 minutes of football with his home-state team. But, a play in the final two minutes is going to put a very sour taste in the mouth of not just him but of Philly teammates and fans everywhere.
With the Eagles leading 18-15 and just needing a 1st down to ice the game away, Jalen Hurts rolled out and found Saquon Barkley wide open in the flat for the game-winning first down. That’s when disaster struck, as Saquon Barkley dropped the ball, and the Falcons rallied for the game-winning touchdown to stun Philadelphia.
Saquon Barkley’s stat line was pretty good, running for 95 yards on 22 carries and catching 4 passes for 21 yards. But, it’s the play he didn’t make that gave the Falcons a chance to win the game. Take a look.
This Saquon Barkley drop left the door open for the Falcons. They then drove right down the field and scored a game winning touchdown pic.twitter.com/REEv3Gkpgy
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 17, 2024
Brutal. The Falcons then got the ball back and immediately drove down the field to take a 22-21 lead, and a Jalen Hurts interception ended the game.
Obviously, that’s just a brutal loss by Saquon Barkley and the Eagles. After the game, Saquon spoke out about the drop.
So many things to discuss in this #Eagles loss, but Saquon Barkley obviously said he needs to make the catch at the end of the game, which would have closed the game out against the #Falcons. @SportsRadioWIP pic.twitter.com/0PankXBPQz
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) September 17, 2024
“I thought was a great playcall, I just got to make the catch… It definitely sucks. Any loss sucks, but when the game comes down to a few plays, it hurts a little more when you’re making a mistake on that play,” Barkley said.
Hopefully this doesn’t cause the notoriously fickle Philly fans to turn on Saquon Barkley, as he has been playing well in his first two games since leaving the Giants and signing with Philadelphia this offseason.
The Eagles drop to 1-1 and go on the road to New Orleans to take on a Saints team that looks awesome.