mefi^abimef^=PNI=pqK=ilrfp=NP pìåÇ~óI=pÉéíÉãÄÉê=NNI=OMNN=ö=bÇï~êÇ=gçåÉë=açãÉ As the entire country reflected on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Pts Eagles began their 2011 season with a resounding 31-13 win over Philadelphia 14 3 7 7 - 31 the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis. After a St. Louis 7330-13 moving pregame ceremony which included the playing of “Taps” in the stadium, it was the Rams that got the home crowd on their feet StL - S.Jackson, 47 run (Brown) (1-47, 0:08) early. After forcing the Eagles to punt on their first possession, Phila - L.McCoy, 7 pass from Vick (Henery) (8-80, 3:01) Rams RB Steven Jackson diced through the Eagles defense on their Phila - J.Parker, 56 fumble return (Henery) first play from scrimmage for a 47-yard TD run. But the Eagles re- StL - J.Brown, 49 FG (11-42, 3:57) sponded on their ensuing possession, driving 80 yards to a touch- Phila - A.Henery, 34 FG (14-49, 3:35) down on just 8 plays. Michael Vick connected with DeSean Jackson Phila - D.Jackson, 6 pass from Vick (Henery) (7-63, 3:33) on a 41-yard strike and then later teamed with LeSean McCoy on a StL - J.Brown, 23 FG (10-74, 4:32) 7-yard TD to tie the game at 7-7. Later in the first quarter, the Rams Phila - L.McCoy, 49 run (Henery) (5-85, 2:00) drove into Eagles territory poised to regain the lead, but it was the Eagles who posted the points. Rams QB Sam Bradford stumbled on TEAM STATISTICS PHILA STL a handoff attempt and fumbled. Philadelphia defensive end Juqua First Downs 27 21 Parker scooped up the loose ball, stiff-armed fellow defender Moise Net Yards Gained 403 335 Fokou (who Parker thought was a Ram) and rumbled 56 yards for his Rushes/Yards 32/236 26/154 2nd career TD. The Rams, who lost their premier running back Net Yards Passing 167 181 Jackson in the first quarter due to a quad strain, managed to cut Att/Comp/INT 32/14/0 36/19/0 into the Eagles lead with a field goal by Josh Brown early in the 2nd Sacked/Yards Lost 3/20 5/28 quarter. However, the Eagles responded with a field goal of their Punts/Average 3/36.3 4/42.3 own as rookie Alex Henery nailed a 34 yarder with just nine seconds Fumbles/Lost 1/1 2/1 remaining in the half. St. Louis began the 2nd half with a drive into Penalties/Yards 8/91 9/60 Eagles territory but Brown misfired on a 47-yard field goal attempt. Time of Possession 30:14 29:46 On the ensuing possession, Vick came up with a dazzling 6-yard 3rd Down Efficiency 8/13 2/12 throw on the run to Jackson in the back of the end zone that pushed Philadelphia into a commanding 24-10 lead. The Rams would not RUSHING: EAGLES - L.McCoy 15-122-1TD, M.Vick 11-97, D.Lewis quit, though, as their next drive found them first and goal at the 2-10, R.Brown 4-7 ... RAMS - C.Williams 19-91, S.Jackson 2-56-1TD, Philadelphia one-yard line after a pass interference call in the end B.Miller 1-12, J.Norwood 3-10, S.Bradford 1-(-15). zone on Nnamdi Asomugha. But the Rams had to settle for a field RECEIVING: EAGLES - D.Jackson 6-102-1TD, J.Avant 3-40, L.McCoy goal after a feisty Eagles defense held their ground. Midway through 2-15-1TD, J.Maclin 1-20, B.Celek 1-13, D.Lewis 1-(-3) ... RAMS - the fourth quarter, the Eagles turned to McCoy and the run game C.Williams 6-49, D.Amendola 5-45, B.Gibson 3-50, B.Bajema 2-21, as he broke runs of 11 and 17 yards before hitting a home run with G.Salas 1-21, L.Kendricks 1-18, M.Sims-Walker 1-5. a 49-yard jaunt into the end zone to seal the win. PASSING: EAGLES - M.Vick 32-14-187-0-2TDs ... RAMS - S.Brad- Notes: Jackson’s 100-yard receiving day was the 12th of his career. ford (starter) 30-17-188-0-0TDs, A.Feeley 6-2-21-0-0TDs. His first came against the Rams on opening day of his rookie year in INTs: EAGLES - None ... RAMS - None. 2008 … The Eagles and Rams played on opening day for the third SACKS: EAGLES - J.Babin 2.0, T.Cole 1.0, C.Jenkins 1.0, D.Tapp 1.0 time in the last 11 years … Parker’s first NFL TD came against San ... RAMS - J.King 1.0, C.Long 1.0, Q.Mikell 1.0. Francisco in 2008 after he intercepted 49ers QB J.T. O’Sullivan and returned it 55 yards for a score … Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin played EAGLES TURNOVER RATIO: Even (1 fumble, 0 INTs/1 fumble, 0 INTs) in his hometown of St. Louis for the first time in his NFL career … FIELD GOALS: EAGLES - A.Henery (34G) ... RAMS - J.Brown (49G, The Rams lost starting QB Sam Bradford, RB Steven Jackson, WR 47NG, 23G) Danny Amendola, and RT Jason Smith to injury during the course of the game … The Eagles converted 8 of 13 third down opportunities, Weather: Indoors while the Rams were just 2 of 12 … After a solid, 8-year career with Wind: None the Eagles, Rams S Quintin Mikell made his St. Louis debut vs. his Playing surface: Artificial Turf former team … Vick, who made his first start on opening day since Time: 3:15 Sept. 10, 2006 as a member of the Falcons, ended up with 97 yards rushing after three kneel downs at the end of the game negated a 100-yard performance. DE Juqua Parker picked up a Sam Bradford fumble caused by teammate Darryl Tapp and returned it 56 yards for his second career touchdown ^qi^kq^=PRI=mefi^abimef^=PN pìåÇ~óI=pÉéíÉãÄÉê=NUI=OMNN=ö=dÉçêÖá~=açãÉ With five lead changes, a plethora of shifts in momentum and 66 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Pts points up on the Georgia Dome scoreboard, the Eagles and Falcons Philadelphia 010210-31 played an instant classic on Sunday Night Football with the home Atlanta 77714-35 team winning, 35-31. The storyline heading into the contest was the return of Michael Vick to Atlanta in the role of a starter for the first Atl - R.White, 2 pass from Ryan (Bryant) (7-38, 3:58) time since 2006. But after throwing for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns Phila - J.Maclin, 5 pass from Vick (Henery) (12-84, 6:50) against his former team, Vick was knocked out of the game late in Phila - A.Henery, 22 FG (7-41, 2:51) the 3rd quarter after suffering a concussion. At that point, the Ea- Atl - T.Gonzalez, 4 pass from Ryan (Bryant) (4-24, 1:13) gles led the game by 24-21 and placed their fate into the hands of Atl - T.Gonzalez, 17 pass from Ryan (Bryant) (2-49, 0:56) 2nd-year signal caller Mike Kafka, who was making his NFL debut. Phila - J.Maclin, 36 pass from Vick (Henery) (4-70, 1:56) Kafka calmly led the Eagles into the end zone (a 2-yard TD run by Phila - L.McCoy, 8 run (Henery) (4-22, 1:54) LeSean McCoy) in his first series of action as they held a 31-21 ad- Phila - L.McCoy, 2 run (Henery) (5-20, 2:05) vantage heading into the 4th quarter. But the Falcons scored on Atl - O.Mughelli, 1 pass from Ryan (Bryant) (12-80, 6:14) back-to-back 80-yard touchdown drives to build a 35-31 lead with Atl - M.Turner, 3 run (Bryant) (7-80, 3:24) just under five minutes remaining. Staked at their nine-yard line on their ensuing drive, Kafka marched the Eagles deep into Falcons TEAM STATISTICS PHILA ATL territory only to have his 4th-and-4 pass go off the hands of Jeremy First Downs 27 20 Maclin for an incompletion. Kafka had one last Hail Mary attempt Net Yards Gained 447 318 after a Falcons punt, but it was not successful. Exton, PA, native Matt Rushes/Yards 30/133 29/138 Ryan staked the Falcons to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a two- Net Yards Passing 314 195 yard strike to Roddy White in the back of the end zone. The Eagles Att/Comp/INT 37/26/1 28/17/2 responded in the 2nd quarter with a Maclin touchdown catch (5 Sacked/Yards Lost 0/0 4/15 yards) and a 22-yard field goal by Alex Henery. Philadelphia was Punts/Average 4/44.8 7/35.6 poised to tack on more points near the end of the first half, but Vick Fumbles/Lost 3/2 0/0 was forced to fumble prior to a handoff deep in Falcons territory on Penalties/Yards 4/20 7/57 a first and goal play. Ray Edwards of Atlanta returned the ball deep Time of Possession 30:03 29:57 into Eagles territory and Ryan connected with TE Tony Gonzalez to 3rd Down Efficiency 5/11 6/13 give the home squad a 14-10 advantage at halftime. Atlanta upped their lead to 21-10 in the 3rd quarter as Ryan and Gonzalez scorched RUSHING: EAGLES - L.McCoy 18-95-2TDs, M.Vick 6-25, R.Brown 3- the Eagles with a 17-yard pass play that resulted from a Vick inter- 10, M.Kafka 1-2, J.Maclin 1-1, D.Jackson 1-0 ..