PHILADELPHIA – Somehow, the Eagles needed to make Michael Vick miserable. After a week of studying and scheming, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and his staff developed a most familiar concept: lean on the defensive line.
Helped by blitzes from the back seven, the defensive line’s strong play has become trademark of Johnson’s aggressive defense. Yesterday, that defense stymied Vick and the Falcons, helping Philadelphia claim its first Super Bowl berth in a quarter-century with a 27-10 NFC title-game victory at Lincoln Financial Field.
Philly sacked Vick four times, intercepted him once, and held the Falcons’ attack to one touchdown and 202 total yards. Ninety-nine of them came on the ground, where Atlanta, led by Vick and Warrick Dunn, dominated St. Louis last weekend.
Vick’s misery began almost as soon as he took the field. Befuddled by Eagles defenders cheating toward the line of scrimmage faking a third-down blitz, Vick burned an Atlanta timeout before the third play of the first quarter.
Later in the period, the Eagles’ defense excelled again. Up 7-0, but faced with a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Philly held Atlanta, pushing it back three yards before Jay Feely booted a 23-yard field goal.
Defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, who missed the regular season’s final four games with a dislocated elbow, stuffed tailback T.J. Ducket on first down. Blitzing strong safety Michael Lewis batted away a Vick pass on second down. And Thomas sneaked into the backfield on third down, crunching Vick for a two-yard loss.
The ensuing three points deflated the Falcons, who had marched 64 yards in 17 plays over nearly nine minutes. Instead of drawing even, Atlanta remained four points down, and never gained the lead.
The other momentum-moving play came in the third quarter, with the Falcons driving, down 17-10. On first down from his own 14-yard line, Vick threw a 15-yard pass along the left side to Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler.
Crumpler, though, ran about 25 yards, leaving Eagles safety Brian Dawkins to double back, make the interception, and return it to the Atlanta 11-yard line. A David Akers field goal four plays later pushed the Philly lead to 10 points.
Even when he wasn’t turning the ball over or squandering scoring chances, Vick found himself under constant pressure. The Philly defensive line recorded all four sacks, two by Derrick Burgess, who had 2½ sacks all regular season. Thomas registered another on third-and-goal in the first quarter, and Jevon Kearse dropped Vick for a 17-yard loss on the final play of the first half.