In a thrilling Week 2 encounter, the Philadelphia Eagles experienced heartbreak yet again, falling to the Atlanta Falcons with a final score of 22-21. Despite leading with less than two minutes remaining, the Eagles couldn't hold off the Falcons, marking the fourth instance since last season that they've lost a game in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Eagles, who had an impressive 10-1 start last year, seem to be struggling to close out games in the final moments. This latest defeat came after Darius Slay allowed a game-winning touchdown to Atlanta's Drake London in the final minute of play. It was a difficult pill to swallow for a team with high expectations this season.
After the match, Jalen Hurts stepped up to address his teammates. "We have to keep pressing forward. Keep your head up at the end of the day. We have to intensely control the controllables," Hurts shared, emphasizing resilience and focus. His leadership was noted by his teammates, including Reed Blankenship, who highlighted the player-led nature of the team. "Jalen led everything. No coach said a word. It's a player-led team at the end of the day. We know what we did was on us. We made mistakes, offense and defense. It's gonna take everybody," Blankenship remarked.
This sentiment was echoed by the players, who know that they have to remain focused and rectify the errors that cost them the game. "We have to continue to keep going. It's only Week 2. We have a lot of ball left. We have a lot of games left, so we have to stay focused, lock in and learn from our mistakes and build off this. Even though it's a loss, we have to figure out what we have to do better," Darius Slay added, showing a determination to improve as the season progresses.
In addition to their defensive struggles, the game also featured an unfortunate offensive miscue when Saquon Barkley dropped a crucial third-down pass. Hurts was seen consoling Barkley after the drop, reflecting the unity and support within the team despite the result.
While the loss is significant, the focus within the Eagles' camp remains on learning and growing from such experiences. Hurts expanded on this mindset, stating, "It's a matter of if you can learn from it. I think that's the perspective that I have on this, whether it is good, bad, or indifferent, we're going to learn from our goal out there to go out there and play dominant football and win football games and do enough to win the game."
The team's determination to evolve and improve was further underscored by Hurts. "Ultimately, to better ourselves. Better ourselves in growth and learning from these moments. And so in the end, winning is the only thing that matters. And to win, you have to continue to learn. You have to continue to grow. And I think this team will continue to do that," he added.
This loss, while disheartening, serves as a moment for the Eagles to reflect and realign their goals for the coming weeks. With a strong leadership core and a clear focus on improvement, Philadelphia will look to bounce back and find the form that saw them dominate much of last season.