Eagles news: Jalen Carter disciplined for team infraction; Nick Sirianni's late-game decisions questioned

Any good coach is going to back his players, and it seems like that's exactly what Falcons head coach Raheem Morris did Tuesday when asked about wide receiver Drake London's celebration on Atlanta's go-ahead score on Monday night.

London was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after catching the game-winning touchdown pass and doing a celebration that involved gesturing like he was shooting a gun into the air.

Celebrations depicting acts of violence carry an automatic 15-yard penalty in the NFL, turning the Falcons' go-ahead extra point a 48-yard kick, which of course wound up not mattering.

The Eagles suffered a disastrous loss to the Atlanta Falcons at home. A third-down drop from Saquon Barkley and a clutch drive from Kirk Cousins were a recipe for disaster. Despite the loss, the Birds managed to stay in the top 10 of most power rankings.

The Eagles moved down to the sixth spot in ESPN’s power rankings, one spot below where they were in the site’s Week 2 edition.

Meanwhile, Bleacher Report placed the Eagles at No. 9. They fell four spots from their No. 5 spot last week — currently behind the Minnesota Vikings who climbed up from No. 21. It seems like we’re seeing a pattern here.

The Eagles’ fourth-quarter collapse against the Atlanta Falcons has everyone searching for answers — including former Birds players.

Former Eagle Seth Joyner on 94 WIP called out Howie Roseman for picking nose tackle Jordan Davis in the 2022 NFL Draft, part of the unit that failed to contain Cousins on Monday.

“Jordan Davis, in my opinion, was a wasted draft pick and I said that on draft night,” Joyner said. “Now for two years and two games he’s proven that he cannot rush the passer. When you draft a player that high, you have to know for certain.”

When assessing the Eagles’ defensive struggles throughout their front seven, it’s hard to overlook the group of premium draft picks that couldn’t make an impact.

Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Nolan Smith combined for just four total tackles, five pressures, and zero sacks against the Falcons. Carter drew a tough matchup against Falcons Pro Bowl guard Chris Lindstrom and managed three pressures, but has been has yet to truly affect the quarterback with consistency this season.

After struggling against Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt in Week 1, the Falcons utilized chip blocks to slow down the Eagles’ edge rushers at times Monday night. Doing so puts the onus on the interior linemen to win one-on-one matchups to break down the pocket, something that never happened.

Last week, the Eagles’ defensive front could blame the field conditions at Corinthians Arena for their lack of pass rush on Jordan Love. That wasn't the case Monday night.

The Eagles pressured Kirk Cousins on 32.3% of his dropbacks (10 pressures on 31 dropbacks; No. 13 most in the league in Week 2), per Next Gen Stats. Milton Williams notched the lone sack of the night in the third quarter.

On paper, their pressure rate is technically an improvement over their performance against Love (25.7%; No. 26) in Week 1. But after watching each of those 10 Cousins dropbacks, it was evident that pressure did not always affect the quarterback. There were a few instances where Cousins wasn’t moved off of his spot despite having someone lunging at him and he still managed to complete a short-to-intermediate pass. Remember, this is the quarterback who is coming off of an Achilles injury that ended his 2023 season and has appeared limited in his mobility. Missed tackles in the back seven made the lack production up front sting even more.

Things won’t get easier for the Eagles (1-1) following their late loss against the Atlanta Falcons (1-1) Monday night. 

In Week 3, they’ll hit the road to take on the surprising New Orleans Saints (2-0), who lead the lead in scoring, averaging over 45 points per game. The Saints scored points on their first 15 possessions of the season, and Matthew Hayball has only been called on to punt three times. 

Saints quarterback Derek Carr appears reborn in Klint Kubiak’s new offense, with a 142.4 QB rating and five touchdown passes through two games, four to wide receiver Alvin Kamara. 

Peyton Manning was a stand-in for Eagles fans Monday night when Saquon Barkley dropped a third down catch that would have sealed a win for the Birds.

"It's why you don't throw, though" Peyton said during the Manningcast, joined by his brother, Eli, and former Falcons quarterback turned CBS analyst Matt Ryan.

Though Eagles fans probably won't want to watch, the three former quarterbacks were at their best covering Kirk Cousins' game-winning drive with less than two minutes remaining, slicing through the Eagles' defense in front of a stunned crowd at the Linc.

The only numbers that ultimately matter — Falcons 22, Eagles 21 — can’t capture how the final minutes unfolded on Monday night.

But the analytics of Nick Sirianni’s decision-making, when the Eagles seemingly had the outcome in hand, tell the story of a coach whose conservatism led to a win probability in the 90th percentile with under two minutes remaining to near-zero when Jalen Hurts’ last pass was intercepted by Jessie Bates.

A multitude of reasons led to the Eagles’ first loss of the season. Pick your poison: The defensive line couldn’t stop the run or pressure Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins. The passing offense couldn’t function at a high level without injured wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was out Monday with a hamstring injury and will miss a couple of weeks, according to ESPN's Lisa Salters.

"We'll see. We'll see. I don't know that yet," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters after the team's loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Linebacker Devin White also wasn't active for Monday night's game, a coach's decision he said surprised him on Thursday, according to The Inquirer's Jeff McLane.