Tough loss for Eagles, 35-31 to Atlanta…

I thought we had ’em just where we wanted… but the accumulated effect of two Michael Vick red-zone fumbles, and then the TKO on Vick by a freak collision with Todd Herremans’ helmet, not to mention the staying power of Matt Ryan and the combined athleticism of Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and Michael Turner, led to a very disappointing 35-31 loss…

OLB Steve Nicholas dislodges the ball from Vick in the red zone in the second half…at that point in the game, the Eagles were ready to take a 3-score lead… but it was not to be. What looked like a certain victory suddenly turned into coulda and shoulda…

The Eagles had seemed to take control of the game before Vick was felled by a neck injury in which his head bounced awkwardly off teammate Todd Herremans’ helmet after being tackled as he released a pass. He did not return. Vick was 19 of 28 for 242 yards and two touchdown passes before his injury.

Mike Kafka then was summoned because backup Vince Young is still out with a hamstring injury suffered in the final preseason game. Although the Eagles scored a touchdown on that drive to go up by 10 points, they were unable to hold off the Falcons, who went ahead for good when running back Michael Turner scored on a 3-yard run with just under five minutes to go.

That touchdown capped a furious exchange of second-half scoring that enabled the Falcons to avoid an 0-2 start and prevented the Eagles from going 2-0 for only the second time in coach Andy Reid’s career. This loss will be remembered as one the Eagles should have won three times over, even without Vick and Young.

Instead, they paid a huge price for a series of red-zone misplays in the first half that kept the game from getting out of hand late.

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The Eagles finished with a 447 to 318 advantage in total yards. But they were unable to overcome three turnovers and sloppy ball-security play inside the 20-yard line.

the Eagles were gashed early by a strong inside running attack as Turner (21 carries, 114 yards) ripped off gains of nine and 14 yards to open the game. If not for the officials missing a clear helmet-to-helmet hit by defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins on a third-down sack, the Falcons might have jumped ahead on that first series. As it was, they converted the second time they had it, following a poor punt by rookie Chas Henry that set up a big return by Eric Weems to the Eagles’ 38-yard line. From there, the Falcons called Turner’s number again — four times in seven plays, to be precise — and punched it in when Ryan hit Roddy White with a 2-yard pass in the back of the end zone.

The Eagles battled back to take the lead, however.

First, they went 84 yards on 12 plays to tie it when Vick hit Jeremy Maclin with a 5-yard TD pass. Maclin made a one-handed grab of a ball thrown behind him. The play came immediately after DeSean Jackson dropped a more precise pass in the end zone, but Jackson had an impact on the touchdown by drawing double coverage on the other side, enabling Maclin to sneak free in the right flat. The series began with a 20-yard reception by Maclin and was highlighted by an old-school, trap-block counter that Ronnie Brown carried 11 yards, 10-yard passes to Jackson and LeSean McCoy, and finally an offsides call against defensive end John Abraham that turned a third-down stop into a first-and-goal at the 4. A 29-yard pass from Vick to Jason Avant on third down helped the Eagles to their first lead. Though they were held without another first down, they called on Alex Henery to kick a 22-yard field goal.

But just when it looked like the Eagles were about to seize control, one misplay inside the Atlanta 5 gave the momentum right back to the Falcons. Peria Jenny penetrated on a running play to jar the ball loose from Vick, and Ray Edwards picked it up and nearly returned it for a touchdown until being dragged down from behind by Jackson. Still, the Falcons were able to turn that possession into a touchdown and a 14-10 lead.

Then they threatened to make it a runaway when they intercepted Vick on the first series of the second half and were in the end zone two plays later. All that served to do was wake up the Eagles, who responded with three straight third-quarter touchdowns before the Falcons started their comeback.

In the end, Matt Ryan threw a career-high four touchdown passes, shaking off all the hoopla over Vick coming back to face his old team, and rallied Atlanta from a 10-point deficit for a 35-31 victory.

Two of Ryan’s TD throws went to ageless tight end Tony Gonzalez, who went past Terrell Owens into the fifth spot on the NFL’s career receiving list. Then, Ryan hooked up with Ovie Mughelli on a 1-yard score that brought Atlanta to 31-28 with just over 6 minutes remaining.

The Falcons (1-1) completed the comeback with Turner breaking off a 61-yard run, then powering over from the 3 with 3:24 remaining. Turner finished with 114 yards on 21 carries. “It was a wild one, for sure, but we hung in there,” Ryan said. “I think everybody hung in there and kept making plays, kept battling. Credit to guys on both sides of the ball — we never gave up.” 

Vick threw for a pair of touchdowns for the Eagles (1-1) but left with what coach Andy Reid later described as a concussion after getting spun by a Falcons rusher into Eagles lineman Herremans.  Starship 7 staggered to the sideline and Mike Kafka came in for the first regular-season game of his two-year career.

Kafka did a good job in a tough situation, guiding the Eagles down the field on a potentially winning drive in the closing minutes. But on fourth down from Atlanta’s 22, Maclin dropped a pass over the middle that would have kept it going.

The results for the Eagles offense were mixed. Vick fumbled twice and threw an interception, and the Falcons turned two of those mistakes into touchdowns. Still, he had seemingly done enough when he left the field. Kafka came on and handed off to McCoy, who scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:59 left in the third quarter. McCoy ended with 95 yards on 18 carries.

But Ryan and the Falcons hung in there, even though the quarterback was sacked four more times after taking five in a 30-12 loss to Chicago opening the season. “You just keep getting up,” Ryan said. “There’s a lot of tough guys on this football team and I try and stay in line with those guys and just keep bouncing up. I’m just glad we came away with the win.”

Team Stat Comparison

Passing Leaders

Philadelphia	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	NFL RATING
Vick	19/28	242	8.6	2	1	103.6
Kafka	7/9	72	8.0	0	0	100.0
Atlanta	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	NFL RATING
Ryan	17/28	195	7.0	4	2	91.5

Rushing Leaders

Philadelphia	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
McCoy	18	95	5.3	2	23
Vick	6	25	4.2	0	10
Atlanta	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Turner	21	114	5.4	1	61
Rodgers	3	17	5.7	0	10

Receiving Leaders

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER				PHI	ATL
	TD	02:44	Roddy White 2 Yd Pass From Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant Kick)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER				PHI	ATL
	TD	10:54	Jeremy Maclin 5 Yd Pass From Michael Vick (Alex Henery Kick)	7	7
	FG	06:46	Alex Henery 22 Yd	10	7
	TD	00:44	Tony Gonzalez 4 Yd Pass From Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant Kick)	10	14
THIRD QUARTER				PHI	ATL
	TD	11:56	Tony Gonzalez 17 Yd Pass From Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant Kick)	10	21
	TD	10:00	Jeremy Maclin 36 Yd Pass From Michael Vick (Alex Henery Kick)	17	21
	TD	07:52	LeSean McCoy 8 Yd Run (Alex Henery Kick)	24	21
	TD	01:59	LeSean McCoy 2 Yd Run (Alex Henery Kick)	31	21
FOURTH QUARTER				PHI	ATL
	TD	10:45	Ovie Mughelli 1 Yd Pass From Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant Kick)	31	28
	TD	04:48	Michael Turner 3 Yd Run (Matt Bryant Kick)	31	35

Research Notes