Saquon Barkley admirably bails out Nick Sirianni after controversial MNF decision

Week 2 ended in a difficult fashion for the Philadelphia Eagles, as many fans believed the team was well on their way to victory on Monday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons.

Throughout the game, Philadelphia had dominated on the ground. Between Jalen Hurts (85 yards) and Saquon Barkley (95 yards), the offense put forth a strong, physical effort in that respect. And, it was a good thing, too, because they were playing without star wide receiver A.J. Brown.

The offense did exactly what they needed to do ... until they didn't.

Late in the game on third-and-four with 1:46 left on the clock and the Falcons having zero timeouts left, a pass play was called. Eagles fans know the rest of the story by now. Barkley dropped the ball on a pass from Hurts that would have all but sealed the game. Philly could have ran out the clock, but Barkley dropped the pass.

Now, the fact a pass play was called in the first place was an atrocious decision. Head coach Nick Sirianni defended the play call after the game, but fans weren't buying it.

There was absolutely no world where Sirianni should have allowed the offense to pass the football in that instance, especially considering a run could have resulted in a first down, which would have ended the game barring any crazy turn of events.

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When it came to Barkley, himself, the veteran back decided to shoulder all the blame:

"I dropped the ball. I let my team down today. The defense should not have been put in that position," he said.

Well, that was admirable for the first-year Eagle to state. However, it still should not have come down to any potential for a drop in the first place. One run play and the Eagles likely walk out with a win.

What would have happened if the Eagles ran it on third down?

Had the Eagles ran it on third down and come up short, that would have resulted in kicking a field goal with approximately 40 seconds fewer left on the clock for the Falcons' ensuing drive. This means Atlanta gets the ball back with roughly 59 seconds on the clock rather than 1 minute and 39 seconds.

Now, an argument could be made that it took the Falcons only a minute and five seconds to score a touchdown. However, starting the drive with 59 seconds rather than nearly two minutes could have changed the strategy and added even more urgency, so the end result very well might have been different.

On the contrary, if the Eagles ran it on third down and gained enough for a first down, the game is effectively over. Philadelphia could have run out the clock on the following set of downs and come away with a record of 2-0.

You like to think games shouldn't come down to a single decision and that the end result is a culmination of several decisions throughout the contest, but it's difficult to see through that type of lens after a night like this one.