Atlanta, GA (AP) - The Eagles beat up on the Falcons in just about every way imaginable, setting all kinds of offensive records en route to a 92-23 thrashing that had fans on both sides shaking their heads in disbelief.
"It's one of those games where you really can't believe how well things are going," said Philadelphia Head Coach Andy Reid. "It became ridiculous by the end of the game."
Ridiculous is one of many ways to describe how this one went. The final score was certainly shocking. What makes this outcome even more strange is how close the game was in the first half. Philadelphia was only leading 14-13 with less than a minute left in the first half.
But, the Eagles managed to score a touchdown on a four yard run from LeSean McCoy with 43 seconds left in the second quarter. Then, getting the ball back, Philly managed to throw the ball deep to DeSean Jackson to set up a 20 yard field goal from Alex Henery as time expired.
From there, everything just fell apart for the Falcons. The Eagles scored a whopping 69 points in the second half.
| VIDEO HIGHLIGHT: The Eagles picked off Matt Ryan 3 times, including this one by J. Page. |
"I'm really not sure what happened," said Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith. "We were playing fine, it was a great game, and then all of a sudden we couldn't do anything right."
One of the big stories in this one was all of the turnovers. The Eagles didn't cough the ball up once. Atlanta, however, turned the ball over 8 times, including five fumbles and three interceptions. Philly's defense scored 4 touchdowns alone on those turnovers - 3 fumbles were returned for scores and Matt Ryan threw a pick 6 in the second half, as well.
"When we can force turnovers like that, there's no doubt we're going to win," said Eagles Defensive Coordinator Juan Castro. "Granted, this was an extreme. But, getting the ball back for our offense, or even scoring on some defensive plays, can just turn the game around on a dime."
The biggest storyline going into this game was the return of Michael Vick. The Eagles QB made his first start in the Georgia Dome since 2006. There was plenty of talk about Vick, how he'd perform, how the crowd would react. The sheer blowout of the game ended up leaving that as much less a focus. However, Vick did perform awfully well, completing 14 of 16 passes for more than 200 yards and 2 touchdowns before being pulled early in the second half for Vince Young.
| VIDEO HIGHLIGHT: Vick connected with DeSean Jackson 7 times, including this 42 yard pass to set up a field goal to end the first half. |
"I'm just glad we won," said Vick. "I know there was a lot of focus on me and what the fans would say and do. But, we had a game to play regardless, and just to win was the important thing for me, not all this other hype being brought on by the media."
Philadelphia's rushing attack continues to gobble up yards and destroy defenses. The Eagles rushed for more than 300 yards for the second straight game. LeSean McCoy accounted for 166 of those yards, while finding the endzone 4 times.
DeSean Jackson also was a major player in this game. He caught 7 balls for about 140 yards and also scored a touchdown.
Among the many franchise records the Eagles set were most points scored by Philadelphia in a game with 92. The previous record was 64. Phily also set a number of high marks in the second half, including most points in the third quarter, most points in the fourth quarter and most points in the second half.
The Eagles now return to Philadelphia to play their home opener at Lincoln Financial Field. And of course, who better to open the home schedule than their long hated rivals, the New York Giants?
"That's going to be a big one," said Jackson. "I'm sure they've had this one circled for a long time. So have we. It should be a lot of fun, and hopefully we'll be able to dominate them in front of the home fans."
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