Eagles get screwed on Saquon Barkley fumble after refs miss obvious call

Things were going just fine for the Philadelphia Eagles in their Week 9 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was 22-0 with just under six minutes to go in the third quarter in a game the Eagles looked like they'd walk away as clear victors.

Then, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence ran in a one-yard score and followed it up with a completion to Brian Thomas Jr. for the two-point conversion.

So, it was 22-8 with just over a quarter to go. Still, this isn't the worst-case scenario.

The Eagles got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff and, on the very first play from scrimmage, quarterback Jalen Hurts handed it off to running back Saquon Barkley who would go for about four yards before sliding forward a few more inches on the ground.

The only problem was, after Barkley's body hit the ground (elbows included), the ball came out and was picked up by Jaguars defender Travon Walker.

The referees did not blow the play dead. In fact, quite the opposite ... Walker would hurl would-be tacklers en route to returning the fumble all the way for a touchdown, bringing the Jaguars to within eight points, 22-14.

The Jaguars would then go on to execute yet another successful two-point conversion, decreasing the margin even further, 22-16.

Back to the Barkley "fumble" though. Was it really a fumble? You decide.

Check out the screenshot, below, and you can see Barkley's elbow clearly hit the ground.

Go ahead and watch the video one more time, too, just in case. You can see Barkley's entire body hit the ground and the running back proceeds to do somewhat of an army crawl for a few more inches, and then, the ball came out.

The Saquon Barkley fumble was reviewed and upheld in shocking fashion

Because it was a scoring play, the fumble and return was reviewed. In the end, the on-field ruling was upheld. It was a fumble by Barkley and a touchdown for the Jaguars.

In what world does the NFL come out and defend this ruling on Monday? Heck, will we get an explanation by someone even Sunday night?

Eagles fans deserve an explanation. Better yet, they deserve a flat-out apology. This wasn't even the first blatantly-missed rulings on the day, by the NFL officials, either.

In an NFC North matchup, Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit that resulted in a penalty, but later on, the league made a call from New York to eject Branch. It was just another example of some highly-questionable calls on Sunday in an eventful Week 9.

Needless to say, the league has some explaining to do.