Zach Ertz, Nelson Agholor take blame for Eagles’ 24-20 loss to Falcons

ATLANTA — Zach Ertz caught eight passes for 72 yards Sunday. If that line had been eight passes for 73 yards, the Eagles probably would be 2-0 today instead of 1-1. That’s how small the difference between victory and defeat can be.

Ertz, who played every offensive snap of his team’s heartbreaking, 24-20 loss to the Falcons, was stopped just short of the first-down marker by cornerback Isaiah Oliver on a critical fourth-and-8 play with 38 seconds left in the game.

Ertz ran a hook route just past the sticks, but came back to the ball ever so slightly after making his pivot. The 6-foot, 210-pound Oliver made a perfect tackle just as Ertz caught the ball from Carson Wentz at the Atlanta 9-yard line, and prevented him from picking up the first down.

After the game, Ertz blamed himself for the defeat.

“I had a 10-yard route,’’ he said. “I came back to the ball. I should’ve run it a little deeper just knowing the situation.

"I’m really disappointed in myself. I’ve got to be better. They count on me to make the play in spots like that.’’

The guilt Ertz felt for his team’s first loss of the season was visible in his eyes as he spoke with reporters.

“I’m an emotional player, and I feel like I let the team down at the end,’’ he said. “I tried my best, and we were so close. It’s going to hurt for a while, but I’ll get over it.’’

Ertz wasn’t the only Eagle pointing a finger at himself after the loss. So was wide receiver Nelson Agholor.

He caught eight passes for 107 yards, including a 4-yard, third-quarter touchdown pass from Wentz on a fourth-and-goal play. He also hauled in a 43-yard pass in traffic on a fourth-and-14 play four plays before Ertz came up short.

But there also were two drops: one on a third-and-7 on the Eagles’ first drive of the game, and then a huge one on a second-and-2 at the Philadelphia 40 with 1:58 left in the game.

Agholor beat Oliver down the left sideline. Wentz threw a perfect in-stride strike. Even with Oliver and safety Keanu Neal in hot pursuit, Agholor likely would have outraced both to the end zone and given the Eagles the lead back. But the ball fluttered through his hands.

“I have to make that play,’’ Agholor said. “I have to find a way to catch it. Watch where it’s going and look it all the way in.

“I train every day to make plays like that.’’

Agholor played all but three offensive snaps Sunday. The iron-man performances by him and Ertz were necessitated by a rash of injuries that started in pregame warmups when the team’s only other tight end, Dallas Goedert, injured a calf, and continued into the game when wide receivers Alshon Jeffery (calf) and DeSean Jackson (groin) went down early in the first quarter.

The Eagles played “11’’ personnel — one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers — the entire game, with rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside playing 75 snaps and No. 5 receiver Mack Hollins playing 69. In the Eagles’ Week 1 win over Washington, Arcega-Whiteside and Hollins played a combined 15 snaps.

“Obviously, it wasn’t an ideal situation,’’ Ertz said. “I think it’s a testament to the way we responded as a team. The tough, character guys we have on this team. Mack, J.J., Nelson and myself, we didn’t come off the field really. We all were out there the whole game. We were in it together.’’

Losing Jeffery and Jackson, who combined for three touchdowns against Washington, and Goedert was a big blow to the Eagles offense. But Agholor wasn’t looking for excuses after the game.

“Hey, we know the talent these guys have,’’ he said. “But it’s a next-player-up mentality here. We have to pick up the slack. And for me, I’m upset that I didn’t get the job done for them. Because I know they would do the same for me if the circumstances were reversed.’’

There was plenty of blame to go around Sunday night beyond the injuries, starting with an offensive line that had played so well the week before against Washington but was inconsistent against the Falcons, both in pass protection and running the ball.

The defense intercepted Matt Ryan three times, but also gave up three touchdown passes — including two against cornerback Ronald Darby, who still is battling back from a torn ACL — and a crushing 54-yard catch-and-run for a TD by Julio Jones with 2:10 left when a fourth-and-3 zero blitz blew up in the Eagles’ faces.

Quarterback Carson Wentz turned in a gutsy second-half performance but struggled in the first half when the Eagles fell behind for the second straight week, 17-6, completing just 6 of 16 passes and throwing two interceptions. The Falcons converted the second one into a touchdown.

“Guys make mistakes and drop a pass here and there,’’ Wentz said. “I throw picks. I miss a play. Things happen. That’s football. None of us are perfect.

“Everybody is going to own their mistakes and learn from them and we’re going to grow together.’’

Wentz went right back to Agholor on fourth-and-14, five plays after he dropped that potential touchdown pass down the sideline.

Both Ertz and Agholor credited Wentz for bringing the Eagles back in the second half. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown after halftime. He also had a rushing touchdown. And he took a pounding from the Falcons’ pass rush.

“I’m proud of him, proud of the way he led us today,’’ Ertz said. “He played out of his mind. He bailed us out a lot. He’s an unbelievable player.

“Some of the throws he made, I mean that third-down throw to Mack [a 17-yard completion on third-and-9 with a defensive lineman trying to drag him down] was unbelievable. I don’t even know how he got that off.’’

Said Agholor: “What a game he had today, man. I think that’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from our quarterback. He was leading us, orchestrating everybody. I mean, we were down a couple guys, but he put people in position to be successful.’’

By Wednesday, when the Eagles begin preparing for their next opponent, the 1-0-1 Detroit Lions, both Ertz and Agholor, like Wentz and the rest of the team, will have put Sunday’s loss, and their roles in it, behind them. But Sunday night, the wounds still were fresh.

“It’s going to hurt for the next couple of days,’’ Ertz said. “But I’ll get back to work [Monday]. Get my training in. Watch the film critically on Tuesday and see what I can improve on, and try to get better.’’