Eagles coach Doug Pederson talked about the heat Carson Wentz faced in team’s 24-20 loss in Atlanta

It was a night where Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz took a beating during Sunday’s 24-20 loss at Atlanta against the Falcons.

Wentz was sacked three times in this physical game, but Atlanta was credited with 10 quarterback hits. He briefly left the game in the second quarter and was in the injury tent.

After the game, Eagles coach Doug Pederson talked about walking the fine line between calling plays to take away the chance of so many physical hits on Wentz and attempting to march down field.

“We knew coming in, it was going to be a battle, a physical game, obviously the quarterback is not exempt from that,” Pederson said in his post-game press conference. “I tried to give him throws where the ball comes out early, but at some point you have to push the ball down the field, it is going to take some protection."

That protection wasn’t always there and when it was, receivers often weren’t open. In addition, the Falcons didn’t respect the run and were able to take off on Wentz. The Eagles rushed for just 49 yards on 21 carries.

Pederson chose to praise the Falcons instead of criticizing his players.

“Give credit to the Falcons," he said. “They had a tremendous pass rush tonight, whether rushing four or five guys and put pressure on him all night.”