The Philadelphia Eagles are 0-and-1 to start the 2015 NFL regular season after a heartbreaking defeat in the season-opener to the Atlanta Falcons by the score of 26-24 on Monday night.
The Eagles got off to a horrendous start, trailing 20-3 at halftime. They battled back to take a 24-23 lead in the fourth quarter, but Falcons kicker Matt Bryant hit a 47-yard field goal to take the lead back. With just over two minutes remaining, Eagles kicker Cody Parkey missed a potential game-winning 44-yard field goal attempt.
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly addressed the media to talk about the loss to the Falcons. He dismissed the idea that he has concerns about Parkey, who has had a rough preseason and start to the regular season.
"Not now," Kelly said. "Not now. I have total confidence in Cody Parkey. He was a Pro Bowl kicker last year. He's an outstanding kicker. And he has the total confidence of everyone in this organization."
It is reasonable for Eagles fans to have concerns about Parkey, who didn't have a great finish to his 2014 season.
In the second-to-last game against of the Washington Redskins, the Eagles were still in playoff contention. Parkey missed two of four field goals in that game, ultimately crushing the Eagles playoff hopes for that season.
Many critics believe that Kelly should of called a timeout on the crucial 4th-and-one because Kelly was contemplating going for the first down instead of kicking the field goal, which may have forced Parkey to rush his kick.
"Yeah, we talked about it," Kelly said. "As we were watching our guys get set. There were still still seven seconds left when the ball was snapped. Usually when you get inside of four [seconds] that's when you start to worry about it being rushed, but since there were seven…"
The Eagles will move on from last night's loss and prepare for a week two divisional battle with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
