Vick Stays Hot, Eagles Throttle Jaguars 28-3

Michael Vick should close the day in the top five in the NFL in quarterback rating.

Michael Vick left very little doubt today in Jacksonville – he’s back and as good as ever.  The Eagles beat the Jaguars 28-3 behind a stellar game for the signal caller.

Vick connected on 17-of-31 passes for 291 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.  The 30-year-old also ran for a touchdown and 30 yards on four carries. Jeremy Maclin was on the other end of two of the touchdowns, with DeSean Jackson notching one as well.

Vick said he’s just trying to capitalize on his second chance. “I always believed that I could come back and play quarterback.  It was all about me getting an opportunity and I got it.  I’m just trying to make the most of it,” he said.

Vick’s performance gave him the second best two game stretch of his career.  The former Falcon tossed for 573 yards between this week and last week, coming up four yards shy of the best two game run of his career.  Vick had 577 yards on December 22 and December 29, 2002. Head coach Andy Reid credited his staff for the strong play by Vick.

“Listen, he’s doing a good job,” Reid said.  “He’s letting the offense work for him, you know, and that’s important when you’re in that position.  I’ve got to give credit to [offensive coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg] on it, Marty has done a phenomenal job and [quarterbacks coach] James Urban has spent a ton of hours with those quarterbacks, coaching them up.”

Flying under the radar due to Vick’s impressive performance was an Eagles defense that gave up just 3 points after sitting last in the league with 59 points against through the first two games.  The Birds outgained the Jaguars 373-184 and held Jacksonville to 5-of-17 on third downs.

Philadelphia’s defense racked up 6 sacks, led by 2 from Trent Cole, and Asante Samuel grabbed an interception as well. Darryl Tapp dressed for the first time as an Eagle and registered a sack.

At the end of the day, all the talk will come back to Vick though.  “He came out and played his heart out today.  It’s more about him than me or anyone else.  It’s a tribute to what he’s done and how he’s handled things,” Reid said.  “We want him to put his name on the offense and let his personality show a little bit within the scheme.”

Through two starts, Vick has done just that.  Of course, his two great outings came against two defenses ranked at the very bottom of the league.  Detroit came into today ranked 30^th while Jacksonville opened the afternoon ranked 29^th.  Next week the Eagles face a Washington defense that started the afternoon dead last in the NFL with 453 yards against per game.

Then again, it’s a rivalry game within a traditionally tough division, which should make it a tougher test.  There’s also the matter of a certain someone returning to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time wearing burgundy and gold.

“I am not getting involved in that. I’m not getting involved in a Donovan McNabb, Mike Vick controversy,” Vick said with a grin.

Tags: Andy Reid, DeSean Jackson, Donovan McNabb, Jeremy Maclin, Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles