What happened?
Kevin Kolb made his second straight start for Michael Vick, and looked like a number one quarterback, passing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns as he led the Eagles to an impressive victory over the Falcons.
The Good:
Kevin Kolb was excellent, completing 23 of 29 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
Jeremy Maclin had his best game of the year, catching seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
DeSean Jackson scored two touchdowns for the Eagles in the first quarter before leaving the game with a concussion.
Jason Avant had five catches for 62 yards.
The defense got pressure on Matt Ryan all day long, sacking him three times, forcing an interception and getting a sack/fumble in the fourth quarter.
Trent Cole had two of those three sacks.
Asante Samuel got his second interception of the season.
The Eagles held Michael Turner to just 45 yards rushing on 15 carries.
The Bad:
DeSean Jackson had to leave the game with a severe concussion. He's more than likely out for at least next week's game.
LeSean McCoy had 64 yards on the ground, but only averaged three yards per carry.
The Eagles committed nine penalties, costing them 78 yards.
The Ugly:
David Akers had one of his worst games in quite some time, going 1/4 in field goal attempts.
The Breakdown:
Coming into this game against the Falcons, there were still a lot of questions about how the Eagles season was going to go. The Falcons were sitting at 4-1 and were riding a four game winning streak. The Eagles, meanwhile, had managed to defeat the Lions, Jaguars and 49ers, who have a combined record this year of 5-12. Needless to say, the wins for the Eagles before yesterday had come against weaker teams.
That's no longer the case, as the Eagles made a loud statement with their impressive win over Atlanta. Kevin Kolb may soon go back to being a backup, but he's certainly capable of starting in the NFL. In the last two games for the Eagles, both Kolb starts and wins, Kolb has passed for 579 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. Kolb has completed over 67% of his passes this year, and completed 79% yesterday. That's not just good for a starting quarterback, that's elite right there. With Kolb establishing a solid passing attack that can use short and deep throws at any time, the Eagles do have a dangerous offense.
The only problem is that the offense is going to be missing one of it's bigger weapons for a little while. After scoring two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air, DeSean Jackson was literally knocked out by a helmet to helmet hit from Dunta Robinson. For the rest of yesterday's game, it didn't seem to matter. Kolb used the rest of his weapons, and Jeremy Maclin had a career day, going for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Maclin already has six touchdowns and 416 receiving yards this year, so he should be able to step up just fine if Jackson has to miss an extended period of time. It's too early to say that Jackson is going to be out next week, but from the hit he took, and the way that he had to be helped off the field, it doesn't look good. At least the Eagles have more than one weapon on the offensive side of the ball.
Even without Brodrick Bunkley, the Eagles came out on defense and made a statement. Atlanta has a good offense, with Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and Michael Turner all being legitimate Pro Bowl players. Atlanta also boasts a top ten rushing attack, thanks to Turner and Jason Snelling, but yesterday, the Eagles shut down that rushing game. Turner finished with just 45 yards on 15 carries, and Snelling only got the ball three times. Once the Eagles jumped out to a 21 point lead, the Falcons had to start throwing the ball more, and Philadelphia was ready for that as well. Trent Cole got pressure on Matt Ryan for most of the day, sacking him twice and forcing a key fumble in the fourth quarter. Asante Samuel picked off his second pass of the season and Stewart Bradley also came through with a sack. Tony Gonzalez did catch two touchdown passes, but had just one catch outside of those two scores. The Eagles at least did a better job of covering him over most of the field than they did with Vernon Davis last week in San Francisco.
People are going to call this a measuring stick game for the Eagles, and with good reason. The two losses that the Eagles have had this year have come against a possible pre season Super Bowl contender and their old franchise quarterback. Now, the Eagles have beaten one of the better teams in the NFC, and they did it after losing their best wide receiver with a concussion. There's still the issue of what's going to happen to Kevin Kolb once Michael Vick is healthy again, but Kolb should at least get the start before the bye week. Vick isn't at 100% yet, and with his more physical style of play, he's going to need to be there before he can get back onto the field and make an impact again. For now, the Eagles have established themselves as at least a solid team in the NFC and are tied with the Giants for first place in the division. After six games, it's right where they want to be.
Next week, the Eagles take the show back on the road against the Tennessee Titans. The last time they played the Titans, Donovan McNabb blew out his knee, Vince Young gashed the Eagles, and my car had it's rearview mirror knocked off. I hope this game goes better.
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