Jalen Hurts on Loss to Falcons: Eagles 'Have to Intensely Control ...

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is using Monday's stunning 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons as a learning opportunity for the entire team.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Hurts explained the Eagles "have to intensely control the controllables" on the field.

"We have to intensely control the controllables," Hurts said. "And I think when I look at this game, there are a lot of things that we could've controlled fundamentally, in our details, in the little things that we just didn't take advantage of. So, that's an opportunity for us to learn from it."

The Eagles lost the game on Drake London's seven-yard touchdown catch with 34 seconds remaining. Atlanta got the ball back trailing 21-15 after Philadelphia settled for a 28-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining after Saquon Barkley dropped a third-down pass that likely would have gone for a first down and sealed the game.

While the drop by Barkley changed the outlook of the game, head coach Nick Sirianni has opened himself up to questions about his thought-process in that situation.

Hurts' assessment that the Eagles need to control the controllables is tied directly to Sirianni's management of that drive.

The throw to Barkley came on a third-and-3 play with 1:46 remaining in regulation. The Falcons were out of timeouts at that point and had very little success stopping Philadelphia's rushing attack. The Eagles ran the ball 37 times for 186 yards in the game.

Philadelphia converted the tush push twice in the second half up to that point. Those conversions came when the offense needed just one yard, as opposed to three, but the fourth-and-1 attempt early in the fourth quarter gained three yards.

It stands to reason that if Sirianni had just gone with the tush push on back-to-back plays, the Eagles would have converted. They also could have handed the ball to Barkley, who finished with 95 yards on 22 carries.

Instead, the Eagles elected to throw a pass to Barkley in the flat. While he is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL, he has had issues with drops in recent years.

The Eagles settled for a field goal at the end of that drive to make the score 21-15 and leave the door open for Atlanta to win the game with a touchdown. Kirk Cousins drove the Falcons down the field, needing just 65 seconds to go 70 yards and capping it off with London's touchdown catch.

Philadelphia got the ball back with 34 seconds and two timeouts, but Hurts' pass intended for DeVonta Smith was picked off by Jessie Bates III to seal the victory for Atlanta.

The turnover again goes back to the Eagles not controlling things. Hurts has thrown at least one interception in six consecutive regular-season games. He only had six interceptions during the entire 2022 season when he finished second in MVP voting.

Despite bringing in two new coordinators to turn things around after last season's collapse, the Eagles look a lot like the 2023 team so far through two games. They have enough playmakers to be competitive and win games, but they need to clean up these mistakes in key moments to be a Super Bowl contender in a wide-open NFC.