Yes, the Falcons should have gone 70 yards to win the game. That shouldn’t have been necessary.
With 1:46 left to play and the Falcons out of timeouts, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni faced third-and-3 from Atlanta’s 10-yard line and dialed up a pass. It looked like it was going to work, until it didn’t.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts faked a handoff into space, rolled to his right and threw the ball to running back Saquon Barkley. He dropped the ball. The clock stopped. After the field goal, which increased the score to 21-15, the Falcons had more than enough time to win.
During his postgame press conference, Sirianni was asked about the decision to throw the ball.
“They played a certain defense and destroyed everything in the middle, so we tried to continue on the outside, but that didn’t work,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni was also asked if he considered going for it on fourth down and third down. Had he not done so, the Falcons would have gotten the ball at or around their own 10 and would have needed a field goal to tie the game. Instead, they started at their own 30 with a chance to win.
“My – the decision to pass the ball there, like I said, when they dunked it inside when it was still fourth and three, I thought since they didn’t have any timeouts, I wanted them to be down a touchdown and see if they could take the field,” Sirianni said. “And that’s what they did. Hats off to them.”
And yes, as Sirianni later found out, he’s not the offensive coordinator, but Kellen Moore. Moore calls the plays. But in a situation like this, it’s the head coach’s job to approve or disapprove a decision that could – and did – go very wrong for the home team.
Sirianni said reporters might try to “stir things up.” However, Sirianni said “my” before saying “the decision.”
It is unclear why he corrected himself. Regardless, “the decision” is “my decision.” And it is his.
What looked like a sure win turned into an actual loss, and instead of 2-0, the Eagles are now 1-1. While there are still 15 games to play, the difference between winning and losing in Week 2 could come back to haunt them when it comes to determining playoff spots.
