DeVonta Smith is responsible for a significant drop vs. the Commanders. Originally published NBC Sports Philadelphia
LANDOVER, Miss. — Devonta Smith didn’t have much to say.
What else could he say?
“I just dropped the ball,” Smith said after the Eagles’ 36-33 loss to the Commanders on Sunday afternoon. “I’m not going to beat myself up over it. That’s life. That’s part of the game. I made all the tough catches today and the easiest one I had, I dropped. It is what it is. … It’s not anyone else’s fault.”
Should Smith have caught the football on a third-and-5 pass from Kenny Pickett that would have ended the game in the fourth quarter?
Yes, of course.
But that play wasn’t the only reason the Eagles lost on Sunday. All three phases deserve the blame for this L.
“Listen, we’re not going to be in a position in this game to start with him,” said quarterback Kenny Pickett, who replaced Jalen Hurts in the first half. “He’s an incredible player. He knows we’re going to throw him the football and AJ (Brown), no matter what. I haven’t lost an ounce of confidence in the 6.”
It’s just that Smith’s play came with 2:07 left in the game. And if he makes that catch — a play he’s made 99 times out of 100 — the Eagles likely walk away from Northwest Stadium with a win and an 11-game winning streak intact.
Entering Sunday’s game, the usually sure-handed Smith had just 3 drops on 71 targets this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I just dropped the ball,” Smith said. “There’s no teaching on it. Catch the ball. Simple.”
Smith’s dropped pass came from the Washington 22-yard line on 3rd-and-5 with just 2:07 left and the Eagles up 30-28. Had Smith held on to Pickett’s perfect pass, the Eagles would have had a first down and pretty much iced the game. Instead, they kicked a field goal and then, after a bad kickoff, let the Commanders down the field for the game-winning touchdown.
That drop felt an awful lot like Saquon Barkley’s drop against the Falcons that led to a Week 2 comeback.
Barkley’s drop against the Falcons came with just 1:46 left in the game. The Eagles kicked a field goal on fourth down and then Kirk Cousins led the game-winning drive on the ensuing possession. Sound familiar?
While it’s unfair to look at it that way, some would argue that the Eagles are two significant drops away from being 14-1.
“I don’t need to give words to Smitty,” Barkley said. “Smitty is a hell of a player. Again, as athletes who want to be great, he’s probably going to try to put the onus on himself. In that moment (against) Atlanta, I put the onus on myself.
But in reality it is a team game. There were so many plays that every body could make, whether it was offense, whether it was defense, whether it was special teams. He knows we’ve got his back. We’re just going to go ahead and get ready for Dallas and finish the season strong.
Before that crucial drop, Smith had 6 catches on 7 targets for 51 yards. He and Brown combined for 23 of 28 Eagles field goals in a game Sunday where the starting quarterback was concussed in the first quarter.
Although he wasn’t able to make the play, Smith appreciated that the Eagles went to him in such a crucial moment. And they wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
“Yeah, sure. I was calling for it,” Smith said. “And when they handed it to me, I had to make a play.”
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