Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell had a tough outing Monday night against the Falcons, giving up multiple big plays to receiver Julio Jones.
Maxwell, who signed a six-year deal with Philadelphia worth $63 million with $25 million guaranteed coming from Seattle, didn't live up to his contract Monday. He got beat on a crucial 44-yard pass by Jones in the fourth quarter, which resulted in Atlanta's game-winning 47-yard field goal by Matt Bryant.
MORE: The best images from NFL week 1 action | Eagles' new pieces on offense not up to speed
He also got beat by Jones on a 22-yard touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half, and 23-, 22- and 14-yard catches by Roddy White. He also was flagged for an 18-yard pass interference penalty in the game.
The Eagles defense struggled as a whole, but Maxwell gave up a lot of big plays. In the end, Jones finished with nine receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns. White had four catches for 84 yards.
After the game, a reporter told Maxwell of Jones' stats and the Eagles cornerback just had to laugh it off.
Byron Maxwell's reaction to hearing numbers Julio Jones put up. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/z9XNSClNa9
— jon johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) September 15, 2015So why did Maxwell struggle? For one, he went up against one of the league's best wideouts.
"Julio is a great player," Maxwell said, via NJ.com. "He's big. He's strong. He's fast. This was my first time going against him. He's a big, strong dude."
Maxwell is a talented player who had a bad night. He knows there's still work to be done, and believes the Eagles will be able to overcome Monday's loss.
"We have to be better," Maxwell said. "We have to go back to the drawing board. It's really kind of simple. We have to stay focused and stay disciplined. Things happen in this game, you have to adjust."
