PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles are 2-0, which is a fact even they’re at a bit of a loss to explain.
For the second week in a row, a sloppy, turnover-filled mess of a game somehow ended in a one-point victory for Andy Reid’s team. And this 24-23 decision over the Ravens yesterday was as alternately maddening and thrilling as last week’s opening win in Cleveland.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh called this nearly four-hour marathon “chaotic” — mainly because of replacement officiating that, to be kind, was horrific — but out of that chaos, Michael Vick and the Eagles managed to crawl away still unbeaten.
“Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach as far as how many times we’ve turned the ball over in two games,” said Vick, who has eight of the Eagles’ nine turnovers. “But to win both of them just goes to show how good we can be.”
Much like the win over the Browns, when he was terrible early but great late, Vick offered another case study in redemption.
Shaking off two ugly interceptions and a lost fumble that had the Lincoln Financial Field crowd booing, Vick marched the Birds 80 yards in 10 plays — going 4-for-4 for 70 yards in the process — and provided the difference himself with a 1-yard dive with 1:55 left.
But there were still plenty of anxious moments immediately before and after Vick’s final TD, thanks to Flacco and a bumbling, thoroughly overmatched crew of replacement officials.
Vick’s score came one play after the replacement refs originally ruled Vick had fumbled after being sacked at the 1 by Haloti Ngata, even though Vick clearly had thrown an incompletion.
The call was corrected on replay, but the fill-ins were so dreadful — their mistakes were too voluminous to list here — Flacco said they and their counterparts around the league are affecting “the integrity of the game.”
Flacco and Harbaugh were particularly hot about a questionable offensive-interference call that wiped out a late TD pass to Jacoby Jones, but Flacco certainly deserved a big share of the blame, too.
A fired-up Eagles defense led by DeMeco Ryans (sack, interception and two tackles for lost yardage) was a considerable factor, of course, but Flacco was dreadful in the second half. He went just 8-for-25 for 140 yards with an interception after connecting on 14 of his 17 attempts for 92 yards and a TD in the first half.
The Ravens also got no help from offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who had Flacco keep throwing late in a tight game despite Ray Rice rolling up 78 yards on just seven carries in the first half.
That strategy was even more inexplicable after Vick’s final TD, when the Ravens — whose rookie kicker, Justin Tucker, had booted field goals of 56, 51 and 48 yards — had two downs to get 1 yard near midfield but had Flacco throw incomplete both times.
“That’s a fair thing to talk about,” Harbaugh said when asked why the Ravens didn’t run on either down.
“That’s a fair thing to talk about,” Harbaugh said when asked why the Ravens didn’t run on either down.
The result was a Philly victory that most likely would have been a loss in a similar situation in 2011. The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to open with consecutive one-point victories, which is even more impressive in light of their blizzard of turnovers (three of which yesterday came inside the Baltimore 20).
Reid’s team also is 2-0 for the first time since 2004, which is the same year as their last Super Bowl trip.
“It’s an amazing feeling, because these were the games we were losing last year,” said Eagles tight end Brent Celek, who came up huge with eight catches for 157 yards. “Coming from behind every week isn’t something you wish for, but we’ll take it.”
Reid’s team also is 2-0 for the first time since 2004, which is the same year as their last Super Bowl trip.
“It’s an amazing feeling, because these were the games we were losing last year,” said Eagles tight end Brent Celek, who came up huge with eight catches for 157 yards. “Coming from behind every week isn’t something you wish for, but we’ll take it.”
