Jones dazzles as Falcons fend off Eagles
ATLANTA — In his first game with that big contract, Julio Jones was worth every penny.
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.
“Julio is an awesome player,” said Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who overcame a pair of costly interceptions. “He’s as good as it gets, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Coming off the best season of his career, Jones was rewarded with a new $71.25-million contract. Early on, he dominated the Eagles’ revamped secondary as Atlanta raced to a 20-3 halftime lead.
Philadelphia 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.
Back came the Falcons, driving into position for Matt Bryant’s fourth field goal of the game, a 47yarder 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.
“They didn’t want to throw it at my corners so they threw it in the middle of the field,” Allen said. “They tipped the ball and it landed in my lap.”
Bradford, in his first regularseason game in nearly two years after being acquired in a trade with St. Louis, was 36 of 52 for 336 yards. But Philadelphia’s muchhyped running game, led by newcomer DeMarco Murray, was largely a bust. After leading the NFL with 1,845 yards rushing in Dallas last season, Murray was held to nine yards on eight carries. Ryan Mathews had only four yards, while Darren Sproles led the way with 50 yards on the ground.
Coach Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offence 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.
“You just trust the preparation, let it rip and have fun,” Quinn said. “That’s what we did.”
49ers 20, Vikings 3
SANTA CLARA, California — Carlos Hyde ran for a 10-yard score late in the first half by spinning away from a defender and diving into the end zone untouched on a rare nice play in a game full of ugly ones, and added another 17-yard TD run as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Minnesota Vikings 20-3 on Monday night to win coach Jim Tomsula’s debut.