Falcons vs. Eagles: Highlights, game tracker for Week 1

The Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles faced off in Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season at Lincoln Financial Field. Highlights and recap of the matchup.

As magical as the run to winning a Super Bowl was for Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles, it almost wasn’t. That’s because of what happened in the Divisional Round against the Atlanta Falcons. Had the play-calling in the red zone been better for the Falcons, they could have very well ended the Eagles’ run right there — but they didn’t.

On Thursday night in the NFL Kickoff Game for Week 1 of the 2018 season though, Atlanta got their chance at revenge as they traveled to Lincoln Financial Field. Unfortunately, a weather delay forced us to wait just a bit longer than expected for the game to actually get underway. And, well, it looked like that may have added some rust.

Both teams looked completely out of sorts to begin the game. Matt Ryan could connect with Julio Jones, but the Falcons offense could find little else that was working for them. It was even worse for the Eagles, however, as Foles — starting for the still-recovering Carson Wentz — seemingly had no offensive rhythm at all.

A complete lack of crisp play for both teams when they had the ball led to what was an ugly first half. As such, the two teams went into halftime with the score at 6-3 in favor of the Falcons.

It would be great to say that things got better in the second half and, to a degree, they did. However, there was still a lot of sloppy play in the final 30 minutes of the game as well. Having said that, the home team did score the first touchdown of the 2018 season, courtesy of Jay Ajayi.

Then, early in the fourth quarter, it appeared as though the Eagles may really take control as Rasul Douglas picked off Matt Ryan. Foles and Co. were unable to take advantage though as he gave the ball right back on a Deion Jones interception.

Later in the final frame, Tevin Coleman scored for the Falcons, but Atlanta failed to convert the two-point attempt, making it 12-10. With the end of the game in sight, Ajayi and the Eagles had an answer as he found the end zone again and converted the two-point try.

Then, the Falcons truly did get a chance at revenge as they drove to a goal-to-go situation in the final moments of the game. Once again, though, it wasn’t to be as Ryan couldn’t find Julio Jones, thus sealing the season-opening loss.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1037908484862357506

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1037916970929115137

At the end of the day, it’s just Week 1 of a long regular season. Subsequently, we could see a lot change from now until the end of the season, even with these two teams. The Falcons offense could reach a new gear and Wentz will return for the Eagles as well. However, if nothing else, we can at least agree that it’s wonderful to have the NFL back in our lives.