Vick rallies Eagles to win
PHILADELPHIA — Every time Michael Vick got knocked down, he got up. No matter how much it hurt, he stayed in and kept making plays.
Vick threw for 302 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, rallying the Philadelphia Eagles to a 34-24 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night.
Vick was hurried and harassed throughout the game and took a slew of jarring hits. He was battered and bruised, but showed his resilience.
“If I take one and I lay down, then I took a good one,” Vick said. “But I’m a pretty tough guy. I bounce back when I can. There’s no science to getting hit, or protecting yourself.”
Vick scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run, and the Eagles held serve in the race for the NFC East title.
It was the first time Vick led the Eagles (8-4) back from a fourth-quarter deficit. They led 14-3 in the first half before falling behind 24-20.
Matt Schaub had 337 yards passing and two scores for the Texans (5-7). Andre Johnson had 149 yards receiving — four days after his hockey-like fight with Tennessee’s Cortland Finnegan.
The Eagles were coming off their first loss in a game that Vick started and finished. He was 5-0 before a 31-26 loss at Chicago.
Vick continued his remarkable comeback story. He completed 22 of 33 passes for two touchdowns, and had his third 300-yard game. Vick, a three-time Pro Bowl pick in six seasons with Atlanta, only had two 300-yard games coming into this season. He also ran for 48 yards and a score.
“This young man is playing as good as anybody I’ve seen play in the NFL and I’ve been doing it for a while,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said of Vick. “He’s special and we just tried to contain him, but obviously he still had a big night. He’s been doing it against a lot of people so. ... We had a couple of chances for turnovers. He gave us a couple of opportunities that we just didn’t take advantage of.”
After the Texans took their first lead in the third quarter, the Eagles quickly answered. Vick sneaked in from the 2 to put Philadelphia ahead 27-24 early in the fourth. Vick’s 33-yard pass to DeSean Jackson to the Texans 11 set up the score.
Vick drove the Eagles 87 yards on their next possession, and tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Owen Schmitt to extend the lead to 34-24. He celebrated with a side leap into coach Andy Reid.
“He got knocked around a little bit,” Reid said. “He got back up and kept going. I loved his energy in the second half. Both sides of the ball, he was firing them up.”
Philadelphia is now a half-game ahead of the New York Giants (7-4) in the NFC East. New York plays host to Washington on Sunday.
