Eagles embrace title, top Falcons
After waiting since 1960 to be called NFL champions, the Philadelphia Eagles fans as well as quarterback Nick Foles, right, had to withstand a 45-minute weather delay before unveiling their Super Bowl championship banner Thursday night prior to their seasonopening 18-12 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
Matt Ryan to Julio Jones failed again.
Jay Ajayi had a pair of touchdown runs, Nick Foles caught another pass to jump-start a sputtering offense and the defending champion Eagles needed another defensive stand to open the season with an 18-12 victory over the Falcons on Thursday night.
A sloppy, mistake-filled game that featured 26 penalties came down to Ryan throwing an incomplete pass to Jones in the left corner of the end zone on the final play from the Eagles’ 5.
Jones couldn’t come down with Ryan’s pass from the 2 in the right corner of the end zone in Atlanta’s 15-10 loss in the divisional round in January.
After waiting since 1960 to be called champions, the Eagles and their fans had to withstand a 45minute weather delay before unveiling their championship banner.
About 30 minutes after the scheduled kickoff, the banner high above the field was uncovered as the building rocked in celebration.
Sherman sees lockout: A day after the 49ers elected Richard Sherman as their player representative, the veteran cornerback said he believes a lockout is coming when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
“It’s going to happen, so it’s not like guys are guessing,” Sherman said.
The current CBA doesn’t expire until after the 2020 season, but there have been rumblings that players might dig in their heels to get certain economic changes, including more guaranteed money in contracts.
Sherman said he’s expecting a lockout “because there was a lockout before.”
Cowboys strike deal: The Cowboys say they are the first NFL team to have a sponsorship agreement with a casino.
The deal with WinStar World Casino and Resort in Oklahoma was announced Thursday. League owners voted recently to allow clubs to strike such deals. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he’s “excited about the future of gaming as it relates to the NFL.”
In May, the Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting by striking down a 1992 federal law that effectively banned sports betting in most states.
Jones said the NFL’s efforts to sort out the court’s ruling could be “months, years in the making.”
Extra points: Although the stadium in Inglewood, Calif., is still nearly two years from completion, the Rams and Chargers are ready to fill it up. The Rams will begin season ticket sales in about two weeks for more than 50,000 seats in the underconstruction stadium at Hollywood Park. The Chargers will put general season tickets on sale in the first week of October. ... Chargers DE Joey Bosa did not practice, leaving his status for the opener against the Chiefs in doubt. The third-year player did not play in the preseason after he injured his left foot on Aug. 7 . ... Former Browns LB Mychal Kendricks pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced in December.