Philadelphia Eagles fans saw their team lose their NFL International Series game in stunning fashion on Sunday in London, and head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t shy away from assigning blame for the loss.
The game was held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the two teams trading the lead during the second half, and the Eagles going up by a point on a field-goal kick with eight seconds remaining. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it was eight seconds too many on the clock for them to hold on for their third win.
On the ensuing kick, Jaguars running back Ameer Abdullah exploded for a 57-yard return to the Eagles’ 39-yard line. He was brought down with one second remaining, as the Jaguars called a timeout, and then won the game with Cam Little’s incredible 57-yard field goal.
Sirianni’s late-game decision on the kick drew scrutiny, and the Eagles’ head coach didn’t shy away from placing blame for the loss.
“Our guys fought their butts off today. Defense played an outstanding game, keeping us in that game. Offense did enough at the end to go win us that game. Special teams did a nice job of kicking that there,” Sirianni said.
“I made a decision, and I lost us that game and that’s what I said to our guys there. And what hurts there is that you know the guys fought so hard, and I don’t make the decision that I should I make at the end of the game,” he told reporters. “There’s no way around it … It’s just, I didn’t do my job in that situation.”
The Eagles entered the game as heavy underdogs with several key injuries, including running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver DeVonta Smith. They lost a defensive starter, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who was disqualified after a fight during the opening kickoff.
However, the Eagles responded to the Jaguars’ early 7-0 lead by scoring two touchdowns to take the lead into halftime. Hurts connected with Darius Cooper in the end zone, and running back Will Shipley also scored, making it 14-7.
In the second half, Jacksonville was able to hold Philly to just that late-game field goal, which the Eagles thought was the game winner. Meanwhile, the Jaguars nailed the walk-off winner in dramatic fashion.
It’s certainly been a tale of two cities with these teams early in the NFL season. The loss dropped Philadelphia to 2-3, while Jacksonville keeps winning and is 4-1.
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