By Avnish Singh 
The Dallas Cowboys’ humiliating loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday left nothing redeemable. Once again, the Cowboys found themselves outclassed by a team led by a coach from the Shanahan coaching tree, exposing just how dependent their offense is on CeeDee Lamb for any spark.
As Cowboys fans began questioning their loyalty, Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles inadvertently provided some comic relief on Monday night.
The Eagles were in prime position to put away the Atlanta Falcons after forcing a turnover on downs late in the fourth quarter while holding an 18-15 lead. With five minutes left, Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley began running down the clock, orchestrating an 11-play drive that burned through Atlanta’s remaining timeouts.
But with 1:46 left and a manageable 3rd-and-3, disaster struck. The Eagles called a pass play for Barkley, who dropped the ball, forcing Philly to settle for a field goal. In true Eagles fashion, their defense immediately collapsed, allowing Kirk Cousins to lead a five-play drive, culminating in a game-winning touchdown pass to Drake London with just 34 seconds remaining.
It was another devastating loss for the Eagles, and Sirianni sidestepped responsibility in the postgame interview, subtly deflecting blame toward Hurts and Barkley.
For Cowboys fans, it was almost laughable, watching their division rivals fumble away a win on national television.
This Saquon Barkley drop left the door open for the Falcons. They then drove right down the field and scored a game winning touchdown pic.twitter.com/REEv3Gkpgy
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 17, 2024
The scrutiny on Sirianni is warranted. Barkley was wide open, and Hurts delivered a perfect pass, one that would have sealed the game had Barkley made the catch. The real question, however, lies with the decision to throw at all. Barkley had dominated the Falcons’ defense on that final drive, accounting for 26 of the Eagles’ 29 yards before the drop. A run play seemed like the safer, more logical choice—especially with Atlanta out of timeouts.
While Barkley should’ve caught the pass, the Eagles’ decision to stop the clock was their biggest mistake. By giving Atlanta a chance to get the ball back, Philly left the door open for Cousins to orchestrate his late-game heroics.
With just 34 seconds left after the touchdown, the Eagles managed to move close to midfield, but Hurts’ next pass was intercepted, sealing their fate. Though Hurts was hit as he threw, the decision to force the pass was questionable.
The Eagles shouldn’t have been in this position to begin with. Running the ball on third down would have drained the clock by over 40 seconds, and a field goal would have increased their lead to six points. In that scenario, Atlanta would have needed to drive 70-80 yards with no timeouts to score a game-winning touchdown.
Under Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia has now lost four games since the start of last season after leading in the final minute of regulation, a troubling trend that continues to raise eyebrows in the NFC East.
