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AFC North: Eagles edge Ravens
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The Eagles' LeSean McCoy, Michael Vick and Danny Watkins celebrate after Vick's rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Ravens Sunday in Philadelphia.
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With the game on the line, Michael Vick made all the right decisions -- again.
Vick scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:55 left, helping the Philadelphia Eagles overcome a slew of turnovers to beat the Baltimore Ravens, 24-23, Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for their second comeback win in a row.
The Eagles are 2-0 for the first time since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens led them to the Super Bowl in 2004. "In the moment, you have to be at your best," Vick said. "It's got to be an any-means-necessary mentality."
Rookie kicker Justin Tucker made field goals of 56, 51 and 48 yards for the Ravens, but Joe Flacco couldn't get Baltimore (1-1) in his range in the final minute. Tucker's 56-yard field goal tied Wade Richey for longest in Ravens history.
Flacco overthrew Ray Rice on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens 46, and the Eagles ran out the clock.
Vick threw four interceptions at Cleveland last week, but also rallied the Eagles to a 17-16 win.
He did it again, though the replacement officials almost made a costly mistake.
Down, 23-17, the Eagles started at their 20 with 4:43 left. Vick threw passes of 24 and 13 yards to Brent Celek. A 19-yard pass to Clay Harbor coupled with a roughing-the-passer penalty put the ball at the 3. Vick then threw incomplete as he was being hit by Haloti Ngata, but the play was ruled a fumble recovered by the Ravens. A replay overturned the call and Vick scored on the next play.
"There's some serious calls the refs missed," Baltimore's Ray Lewis said. "It's just the way it is, man, all around the league. ... But these are calls, with the regular refs, if they were here, we know the way the calls would be made."
The Eagles committed three turnovers in the red zone in the first half and lost two starting offensive linemen in the second. They have nine turnovers in two games, a major reason why they only have 41 points despite totaling 942 yards of offense.
"We have to get better at it," coach Andy Reid said. "You have to take care of the football. You have to throw the football to the right person. This isn't something we planned on having."
Vick finished 23 of 32 for 371 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Celek had eight catches for 157 yards and DeSean Jackson had seven receptions for 114 yards.
Flacco was near-flawless in a dominant 44-13 win against Cincinnati a week ago. He was only 22 of 42 for 232 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Philadelphia.
• Bengals 34, Browns 27: The onside kick tumbled one final time, right into the arms of A.J. Green. Cincinnati's Pro Bowl receiver pulled it close and covered it up, a modest finish to a game full of wild plays. Adam Jones returned Cleveland's first punt 81 yards for a touchdown, and Andy Dalton tied his career high with three touchdown passes, leading the host Bengals to a victory in this recent one-sided rivalry. The Bengals (1-1) have won 13 of the past 16 against the Browns (0-2), who got a breakout performance from their rookie quarterback but still couldn't get a win. Cleveland quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns, rebounding from one of the worst debuts in NFL history -- four interceptions against the Eagles and a 5.1 passer rating. "We're getting there," Weeden said. "The running game definitely takes a lot of pressure off of me. It helps when you run the ball." Cincinnati improved to 42-36 in the 44-year series.
First Published September 17, 2012 12:00 am
