Tony Gonzalez | Atlanta Falcons Tickets

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.

Thursday’s Matchup

The NFL Network hype wagon pulls into Atlanta, and not a moment too soon. If any teams deserve the spotlight to themselves and some extra ink, it’s these two. The Falcons and the Ravens have everything a fan could ask for: winning records, electrifying offensive stars like Roddy White and Ray Rice, still-productive probable Hall of Famers like Ray Lewis and Tony Gonzalez, solid rosters, creative and capable coaches. Quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, meeting for the first time, emphasize substance over style: they have developed steadily since their selections in the first round of the 2008 draft, winning games by playing within their systems, taking what the defense gives them.

What these teams lack is that reality television, ”Behind the Music,” overdramatized sizzle that makes teams like the Cowboys and the Vikings so compelling. After a week of Wade watching, we need a little more tackling and a lot less intrigue. Pick: Falcons. MIKE TANIER

GRAPHICS: Baltimore Ravens (6-2) at Atlanta Falcons (6-2) 8 p.m., NFL Network Line: Falcons by 1

Saints Top Falcons to Claim Playoff Spot

The (11-4) earned the opportunity under fire Monday night, shaking off the Atlanta Falcons by 17-14 in the charged atmosphere of the Georgia Dome.

The win gets New Orleans through the playoff turnstile, assuring them at minimum a wild-card berth. The Saints, who host the in the season finale, can still win the N.F.C. South, but it is not likely. Atlanta (12-3) would have to stumble at home against lowly Carolina.

“It feels good,” Saints quarterback said after the game. “You just want to punch your ticket to the big show, and we’ve done that.”

It took awhile this season for the Saints to discover that, as the defending Super Bowl champions, “Everybody is going to give you their best shot,” safety Roman Harper said. “No game is just a gimme.”

“Everybody plays the champs like it’s a playoff game every time,” defensive tackle Remi Ayodele said. “We’re just trying to get into the tournament. Give us a shot.”

The Falcons, driven to show skeptics that their status as the pending top N.F.C. seed is no fluke, led by 14-10 well into the fourth quarter. After an Atlanta punt, New Orleans stared at a gulf of 90 yards between the line of scrimmage and the goal line.

But Brees shook off a dreadful start to the period and whipped his squad to the winning score, a 6-yard pass to Jimmy Graham with three and a half minutes left.

“He’s gonna come through for us,” Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said of Brees. “We never worry about Drew Brees.”

The teams flipped the anticipated script on a clash of forceful offenses — New Orleans’s quick strike, Atlanta’s ball control — with a defensive tour de force.

Setting the tone in the first quarter were the teams’ six combined punts, nearly matching the rushing total, 7 yards.

“We made them do something else than let them run Michael Turner and throw to Tony Gonzalez,” the Saints’ Harper said.

Defensive end Alex Brown said: “We gang-tackled. We were pretty sound all night.”

The Falcons’ defense seemingly turned the game in their favor with a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions, neither by a defensive back.

Brees tossed a high-risk pass with the Falcons’ Jonathan Babineaux wrapped around him. Defensive end Chauncey Davis picked it off and lumbered 26 yards to lift Atlanta in front, 14-10.

In no time, Brees found Marques Colston in the end zone for an apparent go-ahead score, but a penalty wiped it out. On the next play, Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon deflected a Brees pass and plucked it out of midair to stave off the threat.

The Falcons’ defense thought it had induced yet another turnover, pouncing on a fumble that would have set up their offense a step outside the red zone with just over two minutes left. But a replay rightly reversed the call.

Though unexpectedly short of scoring, the game fit nicely into a rivalry that is one of the ’s least appreciated, partly because of its provincial nature and sorry legacy of insignificant games.

The league’s two most deeply Southern cities broke in their teams a year apart in the mid-1960s. During decades of mostly inept seasons — until the Saints’ Super Bowl run last year, the franchises had combined for only eight playoff wins — the twice-annual games were highlighted on fans’ schedules.

The animus was altered when sent thousands of New Orleans residents to the Atlanta area, where many resettled for good. Some switched, or at least split, their allegiances, while others stayed loud and proud.

Atlanta inadvertently did its part to help restore New Orleans, losing to the Saints in the first post-Katrina game at the Superdome four seasons ago.

The rivalry, if changed, remains intense, and Falcons wide receiver Roddy White fanned the flames last week with the thoroughly modern version of athletics trash talk: posting on . Though White also posted an apology on Twitter, he was often at the center of chippy play early Monday.

Late in the first half, White helped Atlanta cut the deficit to 10-7 on a 7-yard scoring catch, the 3-point margin being a 52-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley.

Hartley almost lost his job by misfiring from about half that distance in overtime of a loss to Atlanta in September, the low point of the Saints’ bumpy 4-3 start.

The Saints promptly added the veteran John Carney to the roster, which scared Harley straight, and he returned to good graces a few weeks later.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, 19-1 as a starter at home before Monday, could not rescue his team. Atlanta fans, many of them unwilling to let go of the era by wearing his old No. 7 jersey to games, now prefer Ryan’s No. 2 as their fashion statement.

But the player known as Matty Ice never warmed up, steering his offense to a single score.

“We just didn’t make the plays,” Falcons Coach Mike Smith said. “We still like where we’re at.”

So do the Saints, their chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions not rinsed away.