Wild night is calling.
The biggest storyline, Mike Vick, was knocked out of the game. His successor, Matt Ryan, did something he had never done before in his career – throw four touchdowns in a single game. And Vick’s fairy-tale ending quickly turned into a beautiful nightmare.
The former face of the Falcons’ franchise was supposed to put on a show and remind Atlanta what they were missing. Fans came dressed in No. 7 jerseys, expecting Vick to throw on the cape and take them for a wild ride in the time machine.
Well, they didn’t quite get their wish. But they did get to see Ryan’s Falcons fight their way back for a 35-31 win last night at the Georgia Dome.
Vick left the game with 3:03 left in the third quarter with a neck injury. After clanking helmets with right tackle Todd Herremans, Vick sat dazed on the Eagles sideline and Mike Kafka entered. Three plays later, Kafka handed off to LeSean McCoy for a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Eagles up, 31-21.
As the extra point sailed through the uprights, Vick limped back to the locker room with a trainer. He was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos as he rounded the back of the end zone. Vick wouldn’t return and his future status was still uncertain at press time.
With Vick out — and backup Vince Young inactive — second-year pro Mike Kafka took the keys to Andy Reid’s offense. Kafka, who was making his regular-season debut on the fly, led the Eagles on a last-gasp drive with less than five minutes to play. Working mostly out of the shotgun, Kafka nickel and dimed the Falcons down the field before connecting with Jeremy Maclin on a 43-yard bomb. But Kafka’s own fairy-tale ending fell just short, when he couldn’t convert a fourth-and-4. The Eagles turned the ball over on downs at their own 20-yard line and the Falcons ran out the clock to end a crazy Sunday night in the deep South.
