Atlanta tops Eagles, spoils Vick’s return
ATLANTA – Michael Vick wobbled off the field with an aching neck late in the third quarter, all done in his return to Atlanta as a starting quarterback.
This is Matt Ryan’s city now, and he led the Falcons back with their former quarterback sitting in the locker room.
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 over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
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 Michael Turner breaking off a 61-yard run, then powering over from the 3 with 3:24 left. Turner had 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.”
Vick threw for a pair of TDs for the Eagles (1-1) but left with what coach Andy Reid described as a concussion after getting spun by a Falcon into Eagles lineman Todd Herremans. Vick staggered to the sideline and Mike Kafka came in for the first 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, Jeremy Maclin dropped a pass over the middle that would have kept it going.
Falcons 35, Eagles 31
| Philadelphia | 0 | 10 | 21 | 0 | — | 31 |
| Atlanta | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | 35 |
First Quarter
Atl—White 2 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick).
Second Quarter
Phi—Maclin 5 pass from Vick (Henery kick).
Phi—FG Henery 22.
Atl—Gonzalez 4 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick).
Third Quarter
Atl—Gonzalez 17 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick).
Phi—Maclin 36 pass from Vick (Henery kick).
Phi—McCoy 8 run (Henery kick).
Phi—McCoy 2 run (Henery kick).
Fourth Quarter
Atl—Mughelli 1 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick).
Atl—Turner 3 run (Bryant kick).
A—69,608.
| Phi | Atl | |
| First downs | 27 | 20 |
| Total Net Yards | 447 | 318 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-133 | 29-138 |
| Passing | 314 | 180 |
| Punt Returns | 3-6 | 1-19 |
| Kickoff Returns | 5-113 | 3-78 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 2-20 | 1-2 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 26-37-1 | 17-28-2 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 0-0 | 4-15 |
| Punts | 4-44.8 | 7-35.6 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-2 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 4-20 | 7-57 |
| Time of Possession | 30:03 | 29:57 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Philadelphia, McCoy 18-95, Vick 6-25, Brown 3-10, Kafka 1-2, Maclin 1-1, D.Jackson 1-0. Atlanta, Turner 21-114, Rodgers 3-17, Ryan 4-6, Mughelli 1-1.
PASSING—Philadelphia, Vick 19-28-1-242, Kafka 7-9-0-72. Atlanta, Ryan 17-28-2-195.
RECEIVING—Philadelphia, Maclin 13-171, Celek 4-43, McCoy 4-21, Smith 2-29, D.Jackson 2-21, Avant 1-29. Atlanta, Gonzalez 7-83, White 3-23, Jones 2-29, Douglas 2-19, Turner 1-32, Snelling 1-8, Mughelli 1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Philadelphia, Henery 63 (SH).