Philadelphia Eagles Defense Holds On for Banner-Night Victory

by Matt George – Sports 1140 KHTK Reporter

After a long thunder and lightning storm delay, and the pre-game Super Bowl LII banner presentation, finally the 2018-19 NFL season kicked off with the Atlanta Falcons battling the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of last year’s NFC Divisional Playoff round. Similar to that battle in early January, Thursday’s bout ended up being a low-scoring affair, with both offenses visibly working through the offseason rust.

Despite the overall lack of points, the game would come down to the wire, as quarterback Matt Ryan and his Atlanta squad had multiple shots at the end zone in the final seconds of the game. After a flag on fourth and goal, one of the game’s 26 penalties, the Falcons took one final shot with just a second left. Julio Jones, who was Ryan’s top target all night long, finishing with 169 total yards, made a spectacular leaping catch but was pushed out of bounds, resulting in an incomplete pass. The defending champion Eagles defense, which was solid all night, held on for the 18-12 win.

Julio Jones will never catch a TD pic.twitter.com/z3I0moXcmX

— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) September 7, 2018

Running back Jay Ajayi was the hero for Philadelphia on offense, finishing the season opener with 62 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Quarterback Nick Foles couldn’t repeat his outstanding Super Bowl performance against New England, but did manage to overcome an interception and only 117 total passing yards. However, Foles was responsible for getting the Eagles offense out of their slow start thanks to another perfectly executed Philly Special.

Philly Special on Banner Night 🐐

(via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/3rNUrWCj2K

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 7, 2018

The Eagles, now 1-0 on the season, will battle the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa next Sunday, while the Falcons will look to bounce back as they host the Carolina Panthers.

Newsletter