PHILADELPHIA — Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took responsibility for his drop late in Monday night’s game when a catch could have sealed 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 make the catch, the game is over.”

Leading by three points with less than two minutes remaining, the Eagles faced a third-and-3 from the Falcons’ 10-yard line. Jalen Hurts sprinted to his right and threw a pass into the flat for Barkley, who was open and in position to get the first down. But the ball bounced off his hands and rolled out. Philadelphia then opted to kick a field goal to make it 21-15.

Kirk Cousins ​​led an ensuing six-play, 70-yard drive in just 1:05, capping it with a touchdown pass to Drake London that appeared to give the Eagles a victory.

“They played a certain defense and messed it up in the middle. We tried to do it on the outside, and it didn’t work,” said coach Nick Sirianni, explaining the decision to skip the third down in favor of running.

“(On) fourth-and-3 … since they had no timeouts, I wanted them to be down a touchdown and see if they could drive the field, and they did. Kudos to them for that.”

ESPN Analytics gave the Eagles a 96%+ chance of winning the game if they had run the ball empty-handed on third down, regardless of whether they then went for the ball on fourth down or scored a field goal.

The Eagles had a 95% chance of winning if they threw the ball on fourth down after Barkley’s drop, compared to a 90% chance if they actually threw the ball.

Hurts had no doubts about the decision.

“I trust (Barkley) every day of the week to make a play, just like anybody else. We’ll be better for it,” he said.

“It’s not a matter of expectations, it’s just a matter of executing what’s said. And at that point, we fell short.”

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

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

His home debut didn’t go according to plan and now he and the Eagles (1-1) must bounce back as they travel to take on the resurgent New Orleans Saints on a short week.

“I can sit here and complain and be angry, or I can become a professional athlete and go back to the drawing board, take the hits, move on and be better,” Barkley said.