PHILADELPHIA – Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took responsibility for his drop late in Monday night’s game when a catch could have secured the win over the Atlanta Falcons.

“I let my team down today,” Barkley said after the Eagles’ 22-21 loss. “I shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. If I catch the ball, the game is over.”

The Eagles had a three-point lead with less than two minutes left and were facing a third down and third down at the Falcons’ 10-yard line. Jalen Hurts sprinted to the right and threw a pass into the flat for Barkley, who was free and in position to take the first down. But the ball bounced off his hands and rolled out of bounds. Philadelphia then settled for a field goal to make it 21-15.

Kirk Cousins ​​​​led the ensuing six-play, 70-yard drive in just 1:05, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Drake London to give the Eagles what seemed like a sure win.

“They played a certain defense and broke everything down the middle, so we tried to get around the outside, but that didn’t work,” coach Nick Sirianni explained the decision to pass instead of running on the third attempt.

“(On) fourth and third down … with no timeouts, I wanted them to be down a touchdown and see if they could take the field, and they did. Hats off to them.”

According to ESPN Analytics, the Eagles’ chances of winning were over 96% if they ran the ball without gaining yards on third down, regardless of whether they then attempted it on fourth down or kicked a field goal.

The Eagles’ winning probability was 95% when attempting the fourth down after the Barkley drop, compared to 90% when converting the ball with the kick.

Hurts did not question the decision.

“I trust (Barkley) to play a game every day of the week, just like everyone else. That will make us better,” he said.

“It’s not about expectations, it’s about implementing what is said. And at this moment we haven’t managed to do it.”

Barkley now has 16 drops since the start of the 2021 season, the most of any running back during that time.

Barkley, who signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles in the offseason, was named NFC Player of the Week after scoring three touchdowns in the season-opening win over the Green Bay Packers.

His home debut did not go according to plan and now he and the Eagles (1-1) must rebound when they face the resurgent New Orleans Saints on the road in a short week.

“I could sit here and complain and be upset about it, or I could be a professional athlete and start over, take it in stride, move on and improve because of it,” Barkley said.