Vick rallies Eagles for late 24-23 win over Ravens

[September 17, 2012]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Michael Vick threw two more interceptions, LeSean McCoy lost another fumble and the offense squandered three chances inside the red zone.

All that added up to another comeback win for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Vick scored on a 1-yard TD run with 1:55 left, helping the Eagles overcome a slew of turnovers to beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-23 on Sunday.

"Going into the fourth quarter, I felt confident," Vick said. "Obviously I'm saying to myself, `Here we go again.' You never know how it's going to pan out or what the outcome is going to be. You just look at your teammates. You look at your coaches, the people who depend on you, obviously we're home and the crowd. You just want to get it done."

Thanks to Vick's late-game heroics for the second straight week, the Eagles are 2-0 for the first time since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens led them to the Super Bowl in 2004. Vick threw four interceptions at Cleveland in the season opener, but rallied Philadelphia to a 17-16 win.

"In the moment, you have to be at your best," Vick said. "It's got to be an any-means-necessary mentality."

Rookie kicker Justin Tucker made field goals of 56, 51 and 48 yards for the Ravens, but Joe Flacco couldn't get Baltimore (1-1) in his range in the final minute.

Flacco overthrew Ray Rice on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens 46, and the Eagles ran out the clock.

The replacement officials almost made a crucial mistake on Philadelphia's winning drive.

Down 23-17, the Eagles started at their 20 with 4:43 left. Vick threw passes of 24 and 13 yards to Brent Celek. A 19-yard pass to Clay Harbor coupled with a roughing-the-passer penalty put the ball at the 3.

Vick then threw incomplete as he was being hit by Haloti Ngata, but the play was ruled a fumble and it was recovered by the Ravens. A replay overturned the call and Vick scored on the next play.

"These games are critical," Baltimore's Ray Lewis said. "Guys are giving everything they've got all across the league. But these are calls, with the regular refs, if they were here, we know the way the calls would be made."

The Eagles have nine turnovers in two games, a major reason why they only have 41 points despite totaling 942 yards of offense.

"We have to get better at it," coach Andy Reid said. "You have to take care of the football. You have to throw the football to the right person. This isn't something we planned on having."

Vick finished 23 of 32 for 371 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Celek had eight catches for 157 yards and DeSean Jackson had seven receptions for 114 yards.

This was a homecoming of sorts for Flacco and Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Flacco grew up in nearby Haddon Township, N.J. Harbaugh spent 10 seasons as an assistant under Reid before going to Baltimore in 2008.

Tucker almost made them winners.

Tucker's 56-yarder at the end of the first half sent the Ravens into the locker room up 17-7. His 51-yarder early in the fourth made it 20-17.

"They made the plays that they had to make to win the football game," Harbaugh said.

Two plays after center Jason Kelce sprained his right knee and was carted back to the locker room, the Eagles got within 17-14 on Vick's 23-yard TD pass to Jeremy Maclin. Vick scrambled to his left and threw on the run to Maclin, who slipped behind coverage and went to his knees to make a nifty grab.

Flacco was 22 of 42 for 232 yards, one TD and one interception against Philadelphia.

Despite the makeshift line blocking for him, Vick didn't take as many hard hits and was sacked only twice. He scrambled eight times for 36 yards before kneeling twice at the end.

Using the no-huddle from the start, the Eagles moved the ball effectively to the Ravens 12. But Vick made another errant throw and was intercepted in the end zone by Bernard Pollard. Vick scrambled out of the pocket and had space, but he fired opposite his momentum.

"You can't always hit a home run," Vick said. "Sometimes you have to settle for singles and doubles. That's what I have to learn. I can't force the ball."

Trent Cole stripped Flacco on Baltimore's second play and Cullen Jenkins recovered at the Ravens 15.

McCoy ran in from the 1 for a 7-0 lead.

Vonta Leach scored on a 5-yard TD run to tie it at 7.

Flacco connected with Jacoby Jones on a 21-yard TD pass to give the Ravens a 14-7 lead.

The Eagles drove to the Ravens 9 before Lardarius Webb caused McCoy to fumble. Lewis recovered and was slammed to the ground by Vick. McCoy had one fumble last year when he was an All-Pro. He already has lost two in two games.

NOTES: Rice ran for 99 yards and caught six passes for 53 more. ... Tucker's 56-yard FG tied Wade Richey for longest in Ravens history. ... Entering the season, McCoy had lost one fumble in the previous 28 games, spanning 565 touches. He lost his second on his 36th touch. ... Dallas Reynolds replaced Kelce at center and took his first snap in the NFL.

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[Associated Press; By ROB MAADDI]

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