The week two Sunday night matchup between the Falcons and the Eagles may not have been pretty. In fact, many would have called the game downright ugly. Turnovers left and right, a slew of penalties, and a couple of injuries characterized a very back-and-forth football game the Falcons are fortunate to have won.
That said, the Falcons did Sunday night exactly what they could not do against Chicago: take advantage of the opposing team's mistakes. On a night where Mike Vick turned the ball over three times only to get knocked out of the game towards the end of the third quarter, the Falcons made every opportunity count in this one.
NFL Network Philadelphia Eagles VS Atlanta Falcons Highlights Sept 18, 2011 (via SAIYANELITE89)
The first of those opportunities came when Peria Jerry busted the Eagles' line wide open and knocked the ball out Vick's hands, leading to a 64-yard return by an opportunistic Ray Edwards. Later in the game John Abraham would force a fumble of his own as Vick attempted to scramble, something with which Atlanta fans are all too familiar.And for the third turnover, a waiting Kelvin Hayden somehow got his hands under an errant Vick pass for his first INT as a Falcon.
Keep in mind, the offense was no slouch in this one, either. Four touchdown passes from Matty Ice, over 100 yards on the ground for Michael Turner, and an absolute field day from Tony Gonzalez, including a spectacular one handed catch at very back of the endzone over two Philly defenders.
The Falcons may not have played a great game. We saw poor pass protection, sloppy defense, and very stupid penalty courtesy of Dunta Robinson (who let Jeremy Maclin run circles around him). But the Falcons will take a win however they can get it, and with this first victory hopefully they begin to move past the losses to Green Bay and Chicago.
For more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. For more on the Eagles, check out Bleeding Green Nation.