Fowl Flying

The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are tied for the NFC East division lead. New York (Giants) hosts the Eagles next week after sweeping the Cowboys at home this season. The Giants downed Dallas 31-24 in the final game at Giants Stadium between the two teams. Philadelphia beat the Atlanta Falcons on the road 34-7 in Michael Vick’s return to Atlanta as an Eagles quarterback. The Giants are 7-5 behind the 8-3 Cowboys and Eagles. Atlanta fell to 6-6 and sit two games behind the Eagles in the NFC wildcard standings. The Falcons weren’t exactly flying against the soaring Eagles. The game was magnified by the enormous playoff implications and Vick’s return. The second half was essentially non-competitive after two scores separated the conference rivals in the first. Atlanta nearly missed being shutout in their own building. Mike Smith’s team scored on the final play of the game to avoid the first 0-fer since the 2004 season.
Vick put up a pair of touchdowns for the Eagles. It was the first time the former Falcon danced into the end zone since 2006. The Philadelphia backup signal caller rushed from five yards out in the third quarter to give the visiting birds a 20-0 lead. Vick padded the Eagles’ lead on a five yard touchdown pass to tight end, Brent Celek. It was the final Philadelphia score of the day, giving the NFC East leaders a 34-0 advantage with 2:17 remaining. Atlanta quarterback, Chris Redman, completed a three yard touchdown pass to Roddy White for the Falcons only score of the game. The touchdown came after Atlanta drove the length of the field on 13 plays. Redman was filling in for last season’s darling quarterback, Matt Ryan. He was coming off a week in which he navigated the Falcons to a last-second win a week ago. Sunday was not his day. Redman finished 23-of-44 with 235 yards through the air. He was picked off twice by the stingy Eagles defense. Cornerback Sheldon Brown returned a Redman miscue 83 yards for a Philadelphia touchdown.
Vick vexed his former team and even with a missed David Ackers field goal in the first quarter, the Eagles seized every opportunity in Sunday’s blitzing of the birds. Donovan McNabb threw a touchdown pass to go along with a 238 yard afternoon. The former Syracuse standout connected with Leonard Weaver for the Eagles first touchdown. Weaver caught five passes, including the four yard grab to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead to end the first quarter. Akers drilled his second field goal in the second quarter. The 33 yarder was booted 1:18 before the half. Redman was successful in finding tight end, Tony Gonzalez, but the Falcons porous offensive line couldn’t protect him long enough to sustain a substantial drive. Redman and the offense struggled to get in sync. The Falcons also did not capitalize on two crucial Philadelphia penalties before halftime. Without their franchise quarterback, it was hard to find touchdowns but they had their chances. Facing a fourth-and-two at the Eagles two yard line, Jason Snelling was stuffed before crossing the goal line. The Falcons turned the ball over on downs with .21 left in the second quarter.
Atlanta was minus five offensive stars but the Eagles had a few key players on the sidelines. Philadelphia overcame their injuries to make plays happen on the field. The reeling Falcons were too loose in the secondary. The defense failed to cover Celek or stop Jeremy Maclin from snagging McNabb flicks. McNabb completed four consecutive passes on the opening drive of the third quarter. He hit Jason Avant for 15 and 8 yards, LeSean McCoy for another 8 and Maclin for 7 before Vick’s touchdown run. Maclin landed 83 yards on four receptions. Celek had only a pair of receptions but scored a touchdown. Weaver fronted the Eagles with 37 yards rushing and made a brilliant one-handed catch for a 59 yard reception. Vick sprinted and sharply shook off tackles for his current team the way he used to do in Atlanta. Number 7 went 2-for-2 in passing and scrambled for 17 yards on four runs. Vick was triumphant in his return to the Georgia Dome, much to the chagrin of faithful Falcons fans. The three time Pro Bowler heard the boos but was also showered with adoring cheers. Andy Reid let third string quarterback, Kevin Kolb, finish out the game. That’s how bad things were for the fumbling Falcons. White’s 15th career 100 yard receiving day and Gonzalez breaking the team’s single-season reception mark did little to deflect the sting from the decisive blowout loss. Their playoff chances were dealt an incredible blow yesterday. Atlanta has four games remaining to right the ship. These fighting Falcons can do it if they find ways to convert third and fourth downs, get healthy on offense and seriously begin putting up points.

Parting Points: Happy Birthday to the one and only, Tino Martinez!