PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — Saquon Barkley stood outside his Eagles locker room Monday night and took the blame for Philadelphia loses 22-21 to the Atlanta Falcons in their home opener. The Birds running back had at least a game-sealing first down, maybe even a touchdown, in his hands. Instead, he flubbed a reception and couldn’t hold on to a short pass from Jalen Hurts.

Barkley’s huge third-down drop at Atlanta’s 10-yard line with 1:46 left stopped the clock and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni opted for a field goal.

“I dropped the ball,” Barkley said bluntly. “I let my team down today. Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. If I catch the ball, the game is over.”

Barkley’s blunder was the opening the Falcons needed to make the stunner with the kind of flawless drive the Eagles couldn’t match. Kirk Cousins ​​capped the winning drive with a touchdown pass to Drake London.

Barkley and Hurts, who had given the Eagles an 18-15 lead with a 1-yard tush-push touchdown in the fourth inning, had a brief chat in the locker room after the game.

The message was simple: Hurts still supported Barkley.

“He’ll trust me in that situation every time,” Barkley said.

After Barkley dropped the ball, Jake Elliott fired a 28-yard field goal instead of the Eagles going for the score on fourth down.

According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Eagles’ winning probability dropped from 94% to 85% due to Sirianni’s decision to kick a field goal.

“We wanted to go up six points. It didn’t work,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I wanted them to get down and score touchdowns and see if they could drive the field. And they did.”

Immediately three-year deal for $26 million guaranteedBarkley is the highest-paid running back in franchise history, and the 27-year-old former New York Giant showed a knack for dropping the ball while playing for the NFC East rival.

“I trust him every day of the week to make a play,” Hurts said. “Just like everybody else. We’re going to be better for it.”

Maybe next time the Eagles will trust Barkley enough to just go for the first down — Barkley averaged 4.32 yards per attempt on Monday.

Even after London burned cornerback Darius Slay and scored, the Eagles still had 34 seconds to at least get into Elliott’s field goal zone. Hurts instead saw his pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III, dashing any hopes of Philadelphia’s own epic comeback.

“The intent of that play was to get up the field,” Sirianni said. “He took a chance and the guy made a good play.”

Like Barkley, Slay was blamed for the loss after he got beat by London and caught the winning touchdown.

“That’s my fault Philly!! I owe you guys one. DAMN IT!!!!!” Slay wrote on social media.

A year after a 10-1 start, the Eagles are already 1-1 with games against undefeated teams New Orleans and Tampa Bay coming up.

Barkley ran for 95 yards in his home debut, a week after a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the game’s opening drive ended without Barkley touching the ball. Led by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, Eagles fans went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive.

Barkley’s steady success did not last.

The defense couldn’t stop Cousins ​​over the long stretch of play and held firm for the entire 60 minutes.

Under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the Eagles developed an early knack for allowing long drives that ended with three points instead of seven. Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo fired field goals from 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals as they pulled within 20.

Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason, came alive in the second half. Cousins ​​connected with Darnell Mooney on a 41-yard TD pass that gave Atlanta a 15-10 lead. Cousins ​​later hit Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the game-winning drive.

“We can get beat, especially if we don’t take advantage of our opportunities,” said Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham.

With #1 receiver AJ Brown is out with a hamstring injuryDeVonta Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score. Sirianni said he wasn’t sure how long Brown would be out.

“Obviously he’s definitely missed,” Hurts said. “It doesn’t change the confidence I have in everybody to step up. We just didn’t get the moment. It wasn’t for us tonight.”