CHAMPS SURVIVE
The Eagles’ Jay Ajayi celebrates after scoring a touchdown as the defending Super Bowl champions beat the Falcons 18-12 in the season-opening game.
PHILADELPHIA » 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 Philadelphia Eagles needed another defensive stand to open the season with an 18-12 victory over the Atlanta 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 fromPhiladelphia’s 5.
Jones couldn’t come downwithRyan’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.
A weather delay pushed the kickoff back 45 minutes, forcing fans to wait for the unveiling of the “world champions” banner following the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory. Wearing his gold Hall of Fame jacket, former safety Brian Dawkins riled up the sellout crowd with owner Jeffrey Lurie by his side and led a chorus of “Fly Eagles Fly.”
The defense fed off that energy with a strong goalline stand on the opening series, stopping the Falcons three times at the 1.
They did it again at the end.
After Ajayi’s 11-yard TD run and 2- point conversion gave the Eagles a lead with 2:25 left, Ryan led the Falcons down the field. He completed a 36-yard pass to Jones and connected with him again for 18 yards on third-and-17.
The Falcons had a first down at the 10 but Ryan threw four straight incomplete passes. But a penalty on Jordan Hicks gave them one more chance and the Eagles held again.
Needing a spark on offense, Eagles coach Doug Pederson resorted to the “Philly Special” play that helped the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 4133 in the Super Bowl. This time, Foles caught a 15yard pass from Nelson Agholor to extend a drive that ended with Ajayi scoring a go-ahead 1-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Foles, the Super Bowl MVP still filling in for Carson Wentz, played it safe and the offense was conservative until Pederson turned to his favorite play on third- and- 5 midway through the third quarter. Corey Clement took a toss and flipped to Agholor, who threw it to Foles running open down the right side for a gain to the Falcons 26.
Foles hit Zach Ertz for 18 yards on third-and- 6 and Ajayi ran in a few plays later to put Philadelphia up 10- 6.
Against New England, tight end Trey Burton took a flip from Clement on a reverse and threw a 1-yard TD pass to Foles to give the Eagles a 10-point halftime lead.
Philadelphia’s defense overcame a pair of blunders to temporarily preserve the lead. Tre Sullivan kicked a loose ball on a punt and the Falcons recovered the fumble at the Eagles 32. A sack by Fletcher Cox on third down was negated by Derek Barnett’s offside penalty to keep the drive going. But Rasul Douglas intercepted Ryan’s pass at the 4.
Deion Jones then intercepted Foles’ pass that bounced out of Dallas Goedert’s hands and returned it 20 yards to Philadelphia’s 27, setting up Tevin Coleman’s 9-yard TD run that gave the Falcons a 12-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Matt Bryant hit the right post on the extra point.
• An ad starring Colin Kaepernick as the face of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign has made its broadcast debut.
The spot aired on NBC during the third quarter. FANGIO THRILLED TO HAVE
MACK » Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is eager to work with two- time All- Pro Khalil Mack after the Bears pulled off a blockbuster deal with Oakland.
The trade capped a busy offseason that saw the Bears mostly load up around quarter back Mitchell Trubisky.
Fangio now has one of the best pass rushers in the NFL leading an already soliddefense, not a badconsolation after he got passed over for the head coaching job in favor of Matt Nagy.
“Well, Iwould say (Mack) could be a major help to us,” Fangio said. “Any time you get a player of his ability it can do nothing but help make you better, helps make the players around him better, but he’s been the same player in Oakland throughout his career, very well decorated and a lot of honors that he deserved and Oakland was never better thanmid-20s in defense, so one guy doesn’t make a whole unit, as pretty evident by that.” COURT REVIVES PAINKILLERS LAWSUIT » A U. S. appeals court has revived a lawsuit against the NFL by former players who claim the league illegally plied them with powerful prescription painkillers to keep them on the field. EX- CAL LB PLEADS GUILTY » Former Cleveland Browns and Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks pleaded guilty to insider trading charges, and faces up to 25 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Gene E. K. Pratter asked Kendricks why he was pleading guilty. “I’m making the decision because it’s the right thing to do,” he said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. COWBOYS CENTER HAS NERVE DISORDER » While Travis Frederick has no idea when his football career will resume, the Dallas center is just relieved that he found out what was wrong when he was diagnosed with a nerve disorder.
The four-time Pro Bowler doesn’t want to say that his presence on the active roster, rather than injured reserve, means he could come back sooner than the eight weeks required by an IR designation.
Frederick is getting treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome, an auto-immune disease that attacks nerves and leads to weakness in various parts of the body. PAT S DEF U SEW R WORRIES» Phillip Dorsett has a message for anyone who thinks the New England Patriots don’t have enough talent at wide receiver with Julian Edelman suspended for the first four games of the season.
“I think we’re ready to go,” Dorsett said as his team gets ready for Sunday’s opener against the Houston Texans.
“We’ve got a lot of guys, a lot of playmakers, not just in the receiving room, but in the running back room, the tight ends room.
“Josh ( McDaniels, offensive coordinator) has a great way of getting everybody involved, so I think we’ll be fine. I think we’ll be ready to go.” BOSA STATUS IN DOUBT » Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa did not practice Thursday, leaving his status for the opener against Kansas City in doubt. Bosa was not in pads during the early portion of practice that is open to reporters.