It was ugly at times, and perhaps even somewhat painful to watch, but the
Philadelphia Eagles pulled off a 24-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens at home.
The Birds (the Philadelphia kind) open the season at 2-0 and now face the
undefeated Arizona Cardinals in the desert next week.
Turnovers remained a problem for the Eagles. They now have nine for
the season after just two games. The main culprit yet again was the team’s man
under center, Michael Vick. Number 7 continues to make questionable decisions
at the helm.
What Vick did do, however, was march the squad down at the end of the game
and score the winning touchdown with a quarterback draw through a depleted
offensive line with two minutes left to win the game after the defense stopped
the Ravens on fourth down. He eluded defenders when he had to, and proved to be
unflappable, an apt pun for someone who plays for the Eagles.
LeSean McCoy, who got the team out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, also
fumbled in the second quarter, giving the ball to a Ravens offense that made
lunch meat out of the Bengals in week 1. McCoy ended up with 81 yards rushing
on 25 attempts.
Vick completed the day throwing for 371 yards with two touchdowns, two
interceptions, and one lost fumble.
His team was getting peppered with injuries as well; it seemed they would
always be lying down at the end of a play writhing in pain, another key player
helped onto the sidelines. The team took a lot of welts in this battle.
Vick kept going to the large well that is Brent Celek. Celek rambled for 157
yards on 8 catches, completely hurdling the Ravens’ Ed Reed on the day and
becoming an absolute nuisance to take down to the ground.
Going into the game, Jeremy Maclin had a hip flexor and was questionable to
play. After scoring a touchdown for 23
yards, Maclin sat out, re-aggravating the injury.
King Dunlap, who started the season at left tackle after Jason Peters went
down in the offseason, was injured and replaced by Demetress Bell.
After that, Jason Kelce, the Eagles starting center, strained his knee in a
truly soul-crushing football play (which you may not want to eat before seeing).
Kelce’s injury could potentially cost him his season. The Eagles replaced Kelce with
Dallas Reynolds, who was the last player the Eagles had dressed for the
offensive line. The next injury would mean Jon Dorenbos is thrown in to the wolves.
The Ravens' Joe Flacco played poorly as the Eagles offense tightened
up, as he overthrew many of his intended targets. Meanwhile, Ray Rice
ran for 99 yards on 16 carries.
Officiating also remained questionable. The officials often took more than
their fair share of allotted time discussing calls, potential infractions, and
quite possibly the meaning of life. Players on both teams took what the
referees gave them, including illegal contact, and then complained to the press
after the game.
Justin Tucker, the Ravens kicker, made 3 field goals
close to the 50 yard-line for the Ravens (56, 51 , and 48, respectively).
Although some plays and mistakes the Eagles made might be painful, no one in
Philadelphia is grimacing at the team’s unbeaten record after a hard fought
victory against an elite team
