Monday, February 23, 2009
MIAMI (AP) -- Early in the game, Michael Vick's helmet went rolling into his end zone, an apt symbol for the direction of the Philadelphia Eagles' season.
Time to concede? Not quite. Not against the self-destructive Miami Dolphins.
Vick made a triumphant return from an injury by throwing for 208 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles totalled nine sacks and beat the Miami Dolphins 26-10 Sunday.
Philadelphia took advantage of three takeaways to score 24 points during a nine-minute span in the second quarter, and later sent Miami quarterback Matt Moore to the sideline with a head injury.
The underachieving Eagles (5-8) won for only the second time in the past six games and still need a sweep of the final three games to have any chance of repeating as NFC East champions.
"We've been through a lot, a lot of games we were supposed to win and didn't finish," Vick said. "I'm proud we won today."
The Dolphins (4-9) had a three-game home winning streak snapped and sank deeper into last place in the AFC East.
"We've been on a roll," receiver Brandon Marshall said. "It stinks that our momentum was stopped."
Jason Babin led the Eagles' pass rush with three sacks to increase his season total to 15, and he forced a fumble. Moore's replacement, JP Losman, was sacked by Phillip Hunt for a safety.
Vick, back after missing three games with broken ribs, won for only the fourth time in his past 12 starts. He went 15 for 30, including a 34-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson, and shook off four sacks.
"I'm in a lot of pain, but I just wanted to finish and get through the game," Vick said. "I got hit a lot, and it kind of wore me down. I tried to hang in there."
Vick, who had said he would run less in the wake of the injury, carried only twice but did scramble several times to extend plays. LeSean McCoy rushed for only 38 yards, but scored two touchdowns to hike his season total to 17.
Log in to comment