Eagles Lose Vick, Lead Falcons 31-21

Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes, including two to Tony Gonzalez, to give Atlanta a 21-10 early in the third quarter.

Vick, making his much-anticipated return to Atlanta, regrouped after two fumbles and an interception to lead two quick scoring drives that gave the lead back to the Eagles.

Vick, who had a 5-yard scoring pass to Maclin in the first half, added a 36-yard touchdown pass to Maclin in the third quarter. An interception by Philadelphia’s Asante Samuel set up a short drive that ended with McCoy’s scoring run on first down from the 8.

Vick was knocked out of the game with about 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter, when he was knocked into one of his linemen. He appeared to spit blood out of his mouth as he was escorted off the field.

With backup Vince Young inactive with a hamstring injury, the Eagles turned to third-string quarterback Mike Kafka.

McCoy’s 2-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 10 points.

Soon after the score, Vick was escorted off the field. There was no immediate update on his status.

Ryan’s second scoring pass to Gonzalez, his veteran tight end, gave Atlanta a 21-10 lead.

The Eagles answered with two quick scoring drives.

With the Eagles leading 10-7, Vick’s 29-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek had Philadelphia back in Falcons’ territory.

On first down from the Atlanta 4-yard line, Falcons defensive tackle Peria Jerry surged through the line to hit Vick before he could hand the ball to McCoy, forcing the fumble.

Defensive end Ray Edwards picked up the loose ball at the 12 and rambled 64 yards before he was caught from behind by DeSean Jackson at the Eagles 24.

Ryan completed a 13-yard pass to Gonzalez before passing to the tight end again on third down from the Eagles 4.

Gonzalez reached high with his right hand to bring down the pass at the back of the end zone. An officials’ review confirmed he had control of the ball and both feet in the end zone.

Vick, scrambling for a gain on the Eagles’ next possession, fumbled again when hit by John Abraham. The fumble was recovered by linebacker Stephen Nicholas.

Vick, capped a 12-play drive that covered 84 yards with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Maclin early in the second quarter. Vick dropped back and looked to his left before stopping and throwing to Maclin, who lined up left before crossing the field to his right at the goal line to make the touchdown catch early in the second quarter.

Vick had a 29-yard pass to Jason Avant on his next drive to help set up a 22-yard field goal by Alex Henery that gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead.

Henery was not close on a 63-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half.

Ryan’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White gave the Falcons a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Vick, the former Falcons star, was making his first trip to Atlanta as a starter for another team. He made his first return as a backup in 2009, and ran and threw for touchdowns as a backup in the Eagles’ 34-7 win.

Vick’s return generated a strong turnout of his No. 7 jerseys, both in Eagles green and in red or black from his days with the Falcons.

An officials’ review negated a 28-yard pass from Ryan to rookie Julio Jones in the second quarter.

The pass hit Jones’ hands, went up in the air and was touched by Coleman before hitting the ground and bouncing back to Jones.

The officials initially ruled Jones made the catch, but the replay clearly showed the ball hitting the ground. Ryan was unsuccessful in his attempt to call a quick play before play could be stopped for the review.

Four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters started for the Eagles after suffering an ankle injury in practice on Friday. He had been listed as questionable.

As expected, the Falcons were without center Todd McClure, who missed his second straight game with a knee injury, and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who injured his knee in last week’s loss at Chicago.

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Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez Adds Another Record

Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez has added another NFL record to his resume with his 12th straight season of 60 or more receptions.

Gonzalez had four catches Sunday against Seattle to give him 62 for the season. Gonzalez previously shared the mark with .

Gonzalez says bettering a record that Rice held is a major accomplishment and one of the career accolades that he’ll remember. He says it also reminds him how lucky he’s been to stay healthy and productive for so long.

Gonzalez is in his second season with the Falcons. His most receptions came in 2004 with Kansas City when he had 102. Last year, Gonzalez had 83 catches with Atlanta.

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Learning the Hard Way, Sanchez Experiences the Jets’ Heartbreak

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — left ’ empty locker room and shuffled toward the stadium exits. He walked slowly and alone. He wore a black jacket, a full beard and the familiar look of resignation that the Jets don often this time of year.

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that was as close as it was disheartening.

“It’s a microcosm of our year,” safety Kerry Rhodes said. “We lose games that we shouldn’t lose.”

Afterward, the Jets moved through their locker room like zombies, their season in the graveyard. Technically, they could still make the playoffs, and Denver’s surprising loss opened up another narrow avenue. Realistically, the way they played, no way.

The longest-tenured Jet, defensive end , and the newest arrival, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, each bolted from the locker room. Coach needed a few seconds to compose himself before he answered questions while his eyes welled with tears.

Even the Falcons were at a loss for words. Their quarterback, Matt Ryan, spotted a former teammate, Ben Hartsock, now a Jets tight end. “How are the kids?” Ryan finally blurted, referring to Hartsock’s two daughters, stumbling over the words.

“Fine, thanks,” Hartsock said, before the two resumed an awkward silence.

The shock came from the way everything unfolded over the past month, as the Jets resuscitated their season, winning three straight, climbing to 7-6, breathing, albeit barely. At that point, tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson started dreaming. It felt, he said, as if the stars were aligning, like the playoff berth that once seemed impossible was possible again.

The Jets had tied three teams for the final playoff spot. Then Jacksonville lost on Thursday. Then Miami fell Sunday afternoon, each domino following the next. “It felt like this was our second chance, like we were granted this opportunity at another season,” Ferguson said. “It didn’t end like the fairy tale I envisioned.”

It ended with three interceptions from the young and consistently inconsistent . It ended with three missed field goals from a unit normally counted as dependable. It ended when tight end Tony Gonzalez lined up on fourth down late in the fourth quarter and thought to himself, “Oh, my God, they are going zone.”

All game, the Jets had bumped Gonzalez at the line of scrimmage and bottled his usual production with man coverage. There, they ran what players called a loaded zone. Expecting Gonzalez to get the ball, the Jets attempted to bracket him, with one defender inside, another outside and a third stationed behind.

Jets fullback Tony Richardson counts Gonzalez as his best friend in football. He married Gonzalez and his wife. Over the last 13 seasons, Richardson has seen Gonzalez make dozens of these plays, and he made another Sunday, finding the hole in the zone for a 2-yard score that put the Falcons ahead for good.

The Jets might have entered this game with the league’s top-ranked defense, but another late score continued this season’s most disappointing defensive trend. For as fearsome as the Jets have played defensively, they have also allowed late, decisive scores in five of their losses — twice against Miami, Buffalo, Jacksonville and now Atlanta.

“That’s our Achilles’ heel,” safety said. “We haven’t gotten a stop when the game was on the line. If we’re going to be as great as we think we can be, that can’t happen once, let alone five times, or whatever.”

But this loss did not rest solely on the defense. In fact, the Jets played complementary football, just not in the way they would like. Instead, each of three phases made game-blowing mistakes.

Three times, place-kicker Jay Feely trotted out to attempt a field goal. Three times, the field-goal unit failed to provide a proper setup. Long snapper James Dearth guessed that his first snap went low and inside and that his third snap sailed high.

Holder Kellen Clemens also took the blame, saying he dropped the first attempt.

Regardless, Feely did not get a kick off on the first attempt. He missed the second one wide right. The third was blocked.

“I didn’t do my job,” Dearth said, echoing Feely and Clemens.

Then there was Sanchez. He returned from a one-game injury absence to complete 18 of 32 passes for 226 yards and a 49.7 quarterback rating. His first interception set up the Falcons’ field goal, and his second and third interceptions stopped Jets drives.

Sanchez did manage a 65-yard touchdown strike to Edwards, who outran a cornerback in single coverage on a post route and scampered untouched into the end zone for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

From there, the Jets’ offense moved the ball but did not score. The Falcons’ offense mostly sputtered, only to score when it mattered most. This was Jets History 101, same old or whatever fans want to call it.

Even Sanchez learned that Sunday. Running back Thomas Jones said: “Anytime you don’t make the plays you need to make, when they’re right there in front of you, you don’t have anybody to blame but yourself. We have nobody to blame but us.”

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