PHILADELPHIA — The feeling was somber in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room. Determined to put 2023 behind them, the Eagles were still searching for answers after their latest collapse.
Reminiscent of the 2023 season, the Eagles had a lead with under two minutes to play. They didn’t come out with the victory.
Philadelphia has a league-high four losses when holding the lead in the final two minutes in the fourth quarter since the start of last season. Three of which came last year, two were part of the epic collapse which the Eagles lost six of the final seven games after a 10-1 start.
The Eagles were determined to put those 2023 demons behind them. Two games into the season, they are still searching for answers.
“[We have to] keep pressing forward,” a hoarse Jalen Hurts said after Monday’s stunning 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. “Keep your head up at the end of the day. We have to intensely control the controllables.”
Hurts was the voice in the locker room after the loss, calling every player on the team together to dissect what happened. Judging by the tone of his voice when he spoke to the media, Hurts certainly had plenty to say. And it was said loudly.
“Jalen led everything. No coach said a word,” Eagles safety Reed Blankenship said. “It’s a player-led team at the end of the day. We know what we did was on us. We made mistakes, offense and defense. It’s gonna take everybody.”
The players did most of the explaining for the latest collapse. They took accountability for what transpired, even though their still isn’t an answer to be found.
“We have to continue to keep going. It’s only Week 2,” Darius Slay said after he gave up the game-winning touchdown to Drake London in the final minute. “We have a lot of ball left. We have a lot of games left, so we have to stay focused and lock in and learn from our mistakes and build off this.
“Even though it’s a loss we have to figure out what we have to do better.”
Hurts continued to be the constant through it all. From speaking to the team to consoling Saquon Barkley after his crucial third-down drop started the collapse, the Eagles quarterback has taken that step into becoming a more vocal leader.
“It’s a matter of if you can learn from it,” Hurts said. “I think that’s the perspective that I have on this, whether it is good, bad or indifferent, we’re going to learn from our goal out there to go out there and play dominant football and win football games and do enough to win the game. Ultimately to better ourselves. Better ourselves in growth and learning from these moments.
“And so in the end, winning is the only thing that matters. And to win, you have to continue to learn. You have to continue to grow. And I think this team will continue to do that.”
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Author: Jeff Kerr
September 17, 2024 | 3:06 pm
