Falcons 35, Eagles 31
Matt Ryan led a pair of 80-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown drives as the Atlanta Falcons knocked out Michael Vick and knocked off the visiting Philadelphia Eagles 35-31 on Sunday night.
Ryan threw four touchdown passes and Michael Turner rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons overcame a three-touchdown blitz in the third quarter by the Eagles to even their record at 1-1.
Vick was knocked out of the game late in the third quarter when he was spun around and his head smacked into a teammate's shoulder pads. He was spitting blood as he left the field and went to the locker room with what was diagnosed as a concussion.
Rookie Mike Kafka replaced Vick and was driving Philadelphia (1-1) toward a possible go-ahead score, but Jeremy Maclin dropped a fourth-down pass with under two minutes to play.
Vick finished 19 of 28 for two touchdowns and one interception in his return to the city where he played his first six seasons.
Ryan, who became the face of the franchise after Vick was jailed on federal dogfighting charges, brought Atlanta back from a 31-21 third-quarter deficit with a pair of efficient drives to improve to 21-2 in his career at the Georgia Dome.
Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez moved into fifth place all time on the NFL career receptions list with seven catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Maclin and LeSean McCoy scored two touchdowns apiece for the Eagles, who stormed back from an 11-point deficit by scoring three TDs in a span of 8:01 in the third period.