Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) talks with head coach Nick Sirianni during a timeout in the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
"This just feels like one of those nights where you look up in the fourth quarter and the game hasn't played out how you expected," were words published to On Pattison this afternoon, with a prediction that the Atlanta Falcons would upset the Eagles 23-21 in Week 2.
As it turned out, Kirk Cousins connected with Drake London for a seven-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, shocking the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field and allowing the Falcons to steal a 22-21 win over the Eagles.
Here's five takeaways from a one-point loss, as the Eagles snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
1. A Pair of Decisions Loom Large for Nick Sirianni in This Loss
When you lose by one point, it's fair to dissect every decision made in a game and try to come up with a moment where the game slipped away.
Two moments from a stunning loss for the Eagles stand out.
On fourth-and-four at the Falcons' nine yard line in the first quarter, Sirianni elected to have the Eagles go for it, rather than taking the points. There's something to be said for being aggressive, however, you also need to take into account that the Eagles weren't facing the 2007 New England Patriots offense tonight either. Sometimes, accepting three points when you have one of the game's elite kickers is alright. Had Sirianni done that in the first quarter, the Eagles would have won in Week 2. Instead, Jalen Hurts failed to connect with Dallas Goedert, and the Eagles turned the ball over deep in opposing territory.
What will be criticized even more perhaps is Sirianni's decision on third-and-three with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter. The fourth-year coach could have handed the ball to Saquon Barkley, who may very well have run for three yards, forcing the Falcons to use their final timeout and essentially putting the game on ice with the Eagles leading 18-15. But Sirianni had Hurts attempt to throw for the first down. To the credit of Sirianni and Hurts, the play should have worked. Hurts threw a perfect pass to the usually sure-handed Barkley, who just failed to catch the ball. That stopped the clock, and left the Eagles to settle for a field goal and give the ball back to the Falcons, who would go on the game-winning drive.
Costly drop! @saquon Barkley can’t haul in the pass from Jalen Hurts.
The drop stopped the clock and the Eagles are forced to go for the FG.
HUGE MISTAKE BY 26. pic.twitter.com/JshkQPBdGK
— DIE-HARD 🦅 REALTOR® (@Eaglesfans9) September 17, 2024
There will be two sides Tuesday on sports radio: those who think Barkley should have caught the ball, and those who think throwing in that situation rather than just handing the ball to Barkley was a mistake. As it turns out, nuance exists, and both sides probably have a point.
2. The Pass Rush — or Lack Thereof — Is a Concern
The Eagles won Super Bowl LII and reached Super Bowl LVII in large part because they had dominant pass rushes. After two games, it's safe to say that Vic Fangio's group has a long way to go in terms of pressuring the quarterback.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams recorded the lone sack for the Eagles Monday, with ESPN's Joe Buck pointing out how much time that Cousins had to operate on what proved to be the game-winning drive. Zack Baun had a pair of sacks in Week 1's win over the Green Bay Packers, but he was the only one who got to Jordan Love. So the Eagles have just three sacks through their first two games of the season.
Bryce Huff — who the Eagles gave a three-year/$51 million deal to this past offseason after he recorded 10 sacks for the New York Jets in 2023 — has been a non-factor through the first two games. Huff has a lone tackle to show for his first two games as an Eagle, with zero quarterback hits or sacks.
Nolan Smith had just one sack in his rookie season after the Eagles used a first-round pick on him coming out of Georgia. He has three tackles in two games.
Josh Sweat had a quarterback hit in Week 1, and four tackles in Week 2. Even at 36, Brandon Graham continues to be effective in short bursts. But right now, this is a team that lacks a top-tier pass rusher. Call it reactionary, but maybe it was a mistake not to pay Haason Reddick what he wanted after he recorded 27 sacks in two seasons with the team.
3. Jalen Hurts Willed the Eagles to Their First Touchdown of the Night
It isn't all negative, even if the end result was ugly for the Eagles.
The Eagles punted twice and turned the ball over deep in enemy territory in a scoreless first quarter. So it's safe to say that Kellen Moore's offense needed a big drive from Hurts early in the second quarter, and that's exactly what they got.
Hurts scrambled for 23 yards on fourth-and-three in Atlanta territory, drawing what by rule was a justified penalty for spiking the ball. (No one wants to see this called a penalty, it didn't delay the game in any way.)
Jalen Hurts got a flag for spiking the ball. Thoughts?
pic.twitter.com/cFOkbNN9ik
Hurts would run for 24 more yards before the drive was out, rushing for 47 on the drive overall.
He then hooked up with DeVonta Smith on a seven-yard touchdown pass at the back of the end zone to get the Eagles on the board:
Jalen Hurts got a flag for spiking the ball. Thoughts?
pic.twitter.com/cFOkbNN9ik
That's the type of drive you need from your franchise quarterback once in a while.
4. ESPN Is Going To Let Jason Kelce Be Jason Kelce
Eagles legend Jason Kelce isn't out of site, nor is he out of mind. Long before he joined Joe Buck and Troy Aikman during the third quarter in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, Kelce was at the forefront of the day for the Eagles.
Kelce interviewed Jalen Hurts for a piece that ran before the game but was published online earlier in the day. It was a very Kelce-esque interview:
End of the Jason Kelce x Jalen Hurts interview: “Love you bro.. Go dominate.. I mean— don’t dominate, I’m independent.”
Jalen: “F**k that. We know what time it is.” pic.twitter.com/MjrtyZbyde
Before ESPN's pregame show began, Kelce took part in some tailgating with Eagles fans, well, among other things:
Jason Kelce eating cheesesteaks & signing hats as Fat Batman at the Eagles home opener tailgate.
Photo: lyder0l on Instagram pic.twitter.com/EWGdaCxU5W
Jason Kelce = Hall of Fame dancer 😂 pic.twitter.com/1yjkRFkmQz
Kelce is authentically himself, and there's something refreshing about that. But the media landscape has drastically changed in allowing him not to act any differently as an employee of ESPN as he did when he played for the Eagles. Most analysts for studio shows are former players, but do their best when involved in a broadcast of their former team to set aside their fandom. Kelce didn't. And that may be fine, it's just different. Can you imagine Tom Jackson or Howie Long pregaming the the pregame show like Kelce did?
It's also interesting to think about how viewers outside of Philadelphia felt. Eagles and Falcons isn't a rivalry, so it wasn't a huge deal tonight. But will Kelce be as openly pro-Eagles before a Monday Night Football matchup against the New York Giants or Dallas Cowboys. You may be saying "I hope so." Although imagine if John Smoltz was in the battery leading Atlanta Braves fans in the Tomahawk Chop before calling a FOX broadcast of Phillies-Braves. Granted, Kelce is on the pregame show, not the color commentator on the telecast. But as the season goes on, Kelce will definitely have his critics, even if his analysis seems to be pretty strong.
ESPN has previously stated that they are "fine with Kelce being around the Eagles in an unofficial capacity." Clearly, Kelce plans to be.
5. Eagles Will Likely Be Without A.J. Brown Again Next Week
The Eagles ruled star receiver A.J. Brown out for Monday's game with a hamstring injury yesterday, one that apparently crept up late last week when he was running a route in practice. It sounds like it won't be a one-week absence for Brown.
Eagles WR AJ Brown told ESPN’s @saltersl that he does expect to miss a couple of weeks due to the hamstring injury he suffered Friday.
Brown told ESPN's Lisa Salters that while he doesn't believe this is going to be a long-term absence, he expects to be out "a couple weeks." It's fair to assume then that the Eagles will likely be without Brown — who had five catches for 119 yards and one touchdown in Week 1's win over the Green Bay Packers —again next week against the New Orleans Saints. The Caesars Superdome is arguably the hardest opposing stadium to play in, and given that the Saints have an NFL-best +62 point differential through two weeks, being without Brown in New Orleans would really burn.
Still, it's best to err on the side of caution with hamstring injuries, particularly when you're in mid-September. But the Eagles have invested so much in the duo of Brown and DeVonta Smith that their receiver depth is thin behind those two. Sure, Goedert and Barkley are also weapons in the passing game. But Brown's absence certainly puts more pressure on the likes of Jahan Dotson, Parris Campbell and Britain Covey to be effective targets for Hurts.
