As the Philadelphia Eagles drove down the length of the field on their way to what they expected would be the game-winning drive, Nick Sirianni made the play call of the game, throwing the ball to Saquon Barkley on third and three to ice out and go up ten.

The only problem? Barkley dropped the routine pass in the biggest blunder of his Eagles career, leading to the clock to stop, Jake Elliott to kick a field goal, and Vic Fangio's defense to fall apart on the way to a Drake London touchdown.

What gives, many fans around Philadelphia asked; why didn't Kellen Moore just run the ball up the middle of the field once or even twice to run out the clock? Well, Nick Sirianni was asked that very question, and let it be known that it all came down to an attempt to outsmart the Falcons' defensive formation.

 Yeah, definitely. You know, we, we wanted to- they were running a certain defense, and junking it up in the middle,” Sirianni noted, “So we were trying to go around the outside, and, you know, it didn't work.

Asked to elaborate, Sirianni did, noting his exact strategy for the Eagles key play.

Related Philadelphia Eagles NewsArticle continues below
Two mystery players in the middle, Jalen Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni around them, Philadelphia Eagles wallpaper in the background
Philadelphia Eagles 2 best trade targets to round out 2025 roster
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Full Philadelphia Eagles game-by-game predictions after 2025 NFL schedule release
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) shake hands after an Eagles victory at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles-Commanders schedule quirk that could have big consequences

“You know, again, in that scenario, I was thinking they might not have any timeouts there, but obviously, they did with the incomplete pass,” Sirianni noted. “You know, that would have come down to maybe a minute, and so we wanted to go up six points, you know, and it didn't work. So, the decision to pass it there – again, like I said – they were junking it up inside, with it being 4th and 3, to go for it, I thought, you know, with them not having any timeouts, I wanted them to be down a touchdown and see if they could drive the field, and they did. Hats off to them.”

On paper, Sirianni is correct; while the play looked bad in hindsight, the idea of throwing it away from a stacked box wasn't inherently bad; it actually might have resulted in six quick points on the board if Barkley was able to track his way into the endzone. In the end, the issue with the play simply came down to execution, as Barkley had his eyes up the field instead of the ball, and the incredibly catchable ball dropped in his lap by Hurts ultimately fell to the ground to stop the drive and the clock.

Needless to say, fans – and Barkley – will be thinking about this one for a very long time.