ATLANTA - Julio Jones sure lived up to that big contract.
Jones hauled in nine passes for 141 yards, including a pair of touchdowns, and the Atlanta Falcons came back after squandering a 17-point halftime lead to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 26-24 Monday night in the coaching debut of Dan Quinn.
"You just trust the preparation, let it rip and have fun," Quinn said. "That's what we did."
But the Eagles rallied behind new quarterback Sam Bradford, taking the lead for the first time at 24-23 on Ryan Mathews' 1-yard run with 8:37 remaining.
Atlanta bounced back, driving into position for Matt Bryant's fourth field goal of the game, a 47-yarder with 6:27 to go that turned out to be the winner.
Cody Parkey was wide right on a 44-yard field goal that could have restored Philadelphia's lead. The Eagles had one more chance, but cornerback-turned-safety Ricardo Allen intercepted a pass that went through the hands of Jordan Matthews, sealing the victory with 1:11 left.
"Our defense stepped up at the end of the game," Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan said. "Ricardo has worked so hard."
Ryan shook off a pair of interceptions, including one on the first possession of the second half that turned the momentum in Philadelphia's favor. He was 23 of 34 for 298 yards.
Bradford, in his first regular-season game in nearly two years and making his debut for the Eagles, was 36 of 52 for 336 yards. But Philadelphia's much-hyped running game, led by newcomer DeMarco Murray, was largely a bust.
After leading the NFL with more than 1,800 yards rushing in Dallas last season, Murray was held to 9 yards on eight carries. Ryan Mathews had only 4 yards, while Darren Sproles led the way with 50 yards on the ground.
Coach Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense looked unstoppable in the preseason but bogged down in the first half against the fired-up Falcons, who hope the energetic Quinn can turn things around from a 10-22 showing the last two seasons under Mike Smith.
Other than a 69-yard drive that led to a field goal, the Eagles generated just 56 yards on their other seven first-half possessions - three of which went three-and-out, and another ended quickly when Bradford was intercepted. The deficit would have been even bigger if not for Kiko Alonso's dazzling one-handed interception while falling backward in the end zone.
Jones was unstoppable in the first half, repeatedly burning new Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell. He hauled in eight passes for 97 yards over the first two quarters, including touchdowns of 4 and 22 yards.
Philadelphia clamped down in the second half, but Jones finally got loose for his only catch after the break - a 44-yarder that set up Bryant's winning field goal.
Bryant also connected from 41, 39 and 44 yards.
It didn't take long for the Eagles to steal the momentum after halftime.
On the third play, Ryan threw a deep pass down the middle just as he was hit, looking for Roddy White. Walter Thurmond stepped in to make the interception, returning it 23 yards to the Atlanta 8. After an incomplete pass, Murray took off around right end for Philadelphia's first touchdown of the season.
The Falcons were forced to punt, and the Eagles put together their most impressive drive of the night to that point. Despite four penalties, they went 95 yards in 13 plays, capped off by Bradford's 5-yard touchdown pass to Murray that sliced Atlanta's lead to 20-17. The running back hauled in the throw, cut back to leave Kroy Biermann sprawled face-first on the turf, and sauntered into the end zone.
Philadelphia wasn't done, either.
Bradford guided the Eagles 80 yards in just six plays, including four consecutive completions that went for 24, 12, 21 and 19 yards to the Atlanta 1. Mathews took it in from there, giving Philadelphia its first lead of the game.
It wouldn't last.
Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press
