Joe Buck has never been more 'shocked' by an NFL finish after the Eagles vs. Falcons collapse.
Joe Buck has seen it all from the vantage point of calling NFL games for more than three decades.
Well, almost everything.
The 55-year-old, now in his third season calling ESPN and ABC's “Monday Night Football” with Troy Aikman, has never been “surprised” by how quickly a team like the Eagles fell apart after the pair left their longtime gigs at Fox. did at home Monday night, when the Falcons went on a six-play, 70-yard drive with 1:05 left to take the lead and steal a 22-21 victory.
“I think you have to tip your cap to the Atlanta Falcons,” Buck told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt during the postgame show. “I've been doing NFL games for 31 years, and I don't think I've ever been so shocked by the way this game ended tonight. It was like a landslide with Philly.”
That landslide began when Saquon Barkley, who left the Giants in free agency this year and signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles, dropped a pass on third-and-3 with a clear path to the Atlanta 10-yard line. First take down.
The passing decision was controversial as the Falcons ran out of time and the Eagles could have milked the clock, but Barkley had a chance to ice the game.
Instead, Jack Elliott kicked a 28-yard field goal to give Philly a 21-15 lead.
Kirk Cousins then went 5-for-6 with 70 yards, capping it off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Drake London, engineering the game-winning drive.
London was then flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for an apparent gun celebration, forcing kicker Yongho Cook into a 48-yard extra-point attempt, which he converted to put Atlanta ahead.
Jalen Hurts threw an interception on the Eagles' second play, ending the game.
Buck also pointed to a questionable decision by Eagles coach Nick Siriani in the first quarter that helped doom them, when they went fourth-and-4 at the Atlanta 9-yard line with the game tied 0-0, and Hurts had a throw on a broken play. Pass incomplete to Dallas Goedart.
“[Aikman] And I looked at each other, it seemed like a chip-shot field goal was called, but they went for it,” Buck said. “It's a different time in the league.”
The Eagles (1-1) visit the Saints (2-0) on Sunday while the Falcons (1-1) host the Chiefs (2-0) on “Sunday Night Football.”