In his first game with that big contract, Julio Jones was worth every penny.
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“Whoever is in the game [gets the call]”, Kelly said, and that meant Mathews, a sixth-year vet out of Fresno State.
Matt Ryan had this one locked in, or so he thought.
“You just trust the preparation, let it rip and have fun, ” Quinn said.
Cody Parkey missed a 44-yard field goal with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. The Eagles had one more chance, but cornerback-turned-safety Ricardo Allen intercepted a pass that went through the hands of Jordan Matthews, sealing the victory with 1:11 left.
“It’s just one of those things that can’t happen”, Bradford said. “Not only myself, everyone wants to get the ball as many times as they can to help this team”.
As noted above, the Bradford/Murray combination didn’t look great on Monday, especially in the first half.
Quarterbacks, C-minus. Matt Ryan was 23 of 24 for 298 yards and two touchdowns. However Philadelphia’s much-hyped operating recreation, led by newcomer DeMarco Murray, was largely a bust. The Eagles seemed to be in control of the NFC East for much of last season, but they folded down the stretch, finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs. Ryan Mathews had only 4 yards, while Darren Sproles led the way with 50 yards on the ground.
Coach Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense appeared unstoppable within the preseason however slowed down within the first half towards the fired-up Falcons, who hope the energetic Quinn can flip issues round from a 10-22 displaying the final two seasons beneath Mike Smith. Bradford’s first touchdown pass with Philadelphia went to Murray.
It could have been worse, but Philadelphia linebacker Kiko Alonso made a leaping, one-handed interception in the end zone to thwart an Atlanta threat in the first quarter. I’ve got to be careful with the ball when we’re backed up.
Jones was unstoppable in the early going, repeatedly burning new Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell.
-WR Julio Jones caught nine passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
After the Philadelphia Eagles erased a big halftime deficit to take the lead, the Atlanta Falcons had a chance to fold midway through the fourth quarter.
“If we just knock a couple of them down and continue to be good at what we’re good at, I think we’ll take the step everybody is looking for us to take”.
Meanwhile, the Falcons signed coach Dan Quinn from Seattle and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan from Cleveland in what many are calling a shrewd bit of business. “We did that today”.
After halftime, the Eagles were finally able to pressure Ryan, which prevented Jones’ routes from developing as easily. That interception, however, was on Ryan for not getting more air under the throw to get it to an open Roddy White. Walter Thurmond stepped in to make the interception, returning it 23 yards to the Atlanta eight.
Jones became the sixth player since 1990 to reach at least 100 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in a Monday night opener since 1990.
On a frustrating night in Atlanta, the Eagles came out extraordinarily flat, and their second-half rally fell short as the Falcons sent them to an 0-1 record out of the gate.
The Eagles then went 95 yards in 13 plays, capped off by Bradford’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Murray that sliced Atlanta’s lead to 20-17. The running back hauled in the throw, cut back to leave Kroy Biermann sprawled face-first on the turf and trotted into the end zone.
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Dominant. Atlanta started the second half with the ball.
