Eagles Overcome Miscues, Take Down Falcons

Scoring Summary

After the Falcons first drive of the game ended with a punt, Carson Wentz and company went to work, driving 81 yards on 12 plays to put up the first points of the game. Ryan Mathews capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run on his seventh carry of the possession.

A three-and-out for Atlanta gave the Eagles the ball right back and the offense continued to push the ball up the field, but after the drive stalled at the Falcons' 26-yard line, Caleb Sturgis came on for a 44-yard attempt. However, just one week after after snapping his streak of 18-straight made field goals, Sturgis missed wide right, giving the Falcons good field position.

Ryan hit Julio Jones for a 29-yard completion, but some good tackling by the Eagles' secondary forced Matt Bryant to come on and attempt a 38-yard field goal. The kicker split the uprights, cutting the Birds' lead to four.

After the Eagles went three and out, the Falcons responded with their second straight scoring drive, but a great tackle for loss by Malcolm Jenkins and a sack by Connor Barwin held Atlanta to another field goal and Bryant made his second kick of the day.

The Eagles seemed to be on the verge of responding, but Wentz was strip-sacked by Vic Beasley and the Falcons recovered the ball at the Eagles 42-yard line. A sack by Brandon Graham pushed the Falcons back, but Bryant tried his third field goal of the game. This time, however, the veteran missed wide right, preserving the Eagles' one-point lead at the half.

The Birds opened the second half with a scoring drive of their own, picking up three points on a 29-yard field goal. The possession lasted 13 plays and took almost seven minutes of clock. It looked like they may have a chance at seven points after Mathews ran the ball down to the six-yard line, but a holding call on Jason Kelce put the Eagles in a situation they couldn't overcome.

With Nolan Carroll out for the game with a concussion, Ryan went after rookie Jalen Mills, who couldn't keep up with Julio Jones, and the 28-yard completion kick-started a drive that ended in a field goal, once again cutting the difference to just one point.

The Eagles responded with yet another field goal. After Mathews eclipsed the 100-yard mark, the Eagles running back was unable to punch it in on third-and-goal from the one-yard line, setting up Sturgis's third field goal of the game.

 But it took just two plays for the Falcons to score their first touchdown of the game. After a run by DeVonta Freeman lost two yards, Ryan turned his attention to the Eagles hobbled secondary and hit Taylor Gabriel for a 76-yard touchdown. But Bryant's struggles continued as he missed the extra point, leaving the Falcons' first lead of the game at just two with over 12 minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

Kenjon Barner took the ensuing kickoff back to Atlanta's 45-yard line, setting up a drive that stalled after Jordan Matthews took an illegal hit over the middle of the field, but the whistles fell silent. Sturgis came back on the field to attempt a 55-yarder, but the kick fell short.

However, the Falcons couldn't do anything with the field position they were given and after three incomplete passes, Bryant came in for the injured Matt Bosher to punt. 

This time the referees made up for their earlier gaffe, as a 22-yard pass interference call gave the Eagles first-and-goal from the five-yard line. Mathews followed his blockers into the end zone and after a holding penalty on Atlanta, Mathews found pay dirt again on the two-point conversion, giving the Eagles a six-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining. 

After the Falcons punted and a Nelson Agholor drop ended the Eagles next drive, an unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Falcons the ball at their own 35. But Jim Schwartz's crew was able to hold their ground and Jenkins knocked away a pass to Jones on fourth and five to end the drive. 

The Eagles were unable to get anything going on their next drive, but Sturgis redeemed himself, knocking home a 49-yarder and giving the Eagles a two-possession lead with just two minutes remaining.

Ryan came back trying to force the down the field, but Leodis McKelvin undercut a route and intercepted a pass to Jones to effectively end the game.

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What's Next

The Eagles head to Seattle next week to face off against Pete Carroll's Seahawks at 4:25 p.m.