ATLANTA — Just as they did in last year's opener, the Eagles dug a 17-point hole.
This time around, a furious second-half comeback fell short.
Sam Bradford overcame an ugly first two quarters and the Eagles' defense made the necessary halftime adjustments, but after the offense traveled up and down the field throughout the second half, Cody Parkey was wide right on a 44-yard field goal attempt with just over two minutes remaining (see story) in a 26-24 loss to the Falcons on Monday night.
The Eagles forced a crucial three-and-out on the next series to get the ball back with just under two minutes and a timeout left, but Bradford threw an interception on a ball off Jordan Matthews' hands (see story).
Bradford engineered touchdown drives of 95 and 80 yards to put the Eagles ahead with 8:37 to play in the fourth, but a Matt Bryant field goal proved to be the game-winner for Atlanta.
The Eagles' offense was sluggish and failed to convert third downs in the first half, but was blazing fast in the second half and Bradford looked near unstoppable until that final pick (see 10 observations).
NFL
Bradford's debut
Bradford was rusty in the first half, missing open receivers, throwing balls too late and delivering an ugly, ugly interception right to safety William Moore in the closing minute of the first half that gave the Falcons great field position and an eventual 17-point halftime lead.
In Bradford's defense, he was harassed the entire first half. The Falcons had constant pressure on the Eagles, surprisingly dominating the Eagles' offensive line.
Bradford was kept upright in the second half until the final drive. It made all the difference. He went 15 for 27 for 117 yards in the first half and 21 for 25 for 219 yards in the second half (more on Bradford here).
He hit 10 different receivers.
Running back breakdown
DeMarco Murray lost 12 yards on his third carry of the night and didn't reach positive yardage until the third quarter. He received all of the meaningful first-half carries, with Darren Sproles rushing only on the Eagles' final drive of the half.
Sproles was all over the place in the second half, catching several short passes and turning them upfield, and gaining 27 yards on one rush. He had five carries for 50 yards and seven catches for 76 yards.
Ryan Mathews had a costly drop in the first half on a sure first down but made up for it in the second half with three catches for 24 yards. Mathews polished off the Eagles' 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter with a one-yard rushing touchdown.
It was Mathews, though, who was stuffed on a 3rd-and-1 run that forced the Eagles to turn to Parkey for the 44-yard miss.
Murray had TDs inside the 10-yard line — one on an eight-yard rush, the other a six-yard reception where he made Falcons miss.
The Eagles' backfield had 14 receptions, a trend that figures to continue.
Aerial attack
The Eagles had no answer in the first half for Julio Jones, who caught eight passes for 97 yards and scored two touchdowns before intermission.
On the first TD to Jones, the Falcons' RB started the play in the slot. Matt Ryan put him in motion and the Eagles' DB covering him didn't move. Ryan diagnosed the Eagles were playing zone, otherwise the DB would have followed the running back, and threw an instant pass to Jones, who eluded Walter Thurmond and DeMeco Ryans to score.
The second TD to Jones was a jump ball over Byron Maxwell, who had a shaky Eagles debut.
Jones didn't have a catch in the second half until Ryan hit him for 46 yards down the right sideline to set up a Falcons field goal. Again, he beat Maxwell on the play.
The Eagles were the first team in the Falcons' last 40 games to allow 75-plus receiving yards to both Jones and Roddy White.
Matthews led the Eagles with 10 catches for 102 yards with almost all of the work done over the middle. You can bet the only one he'll remember is that last drop.
Linebacker rotation
Ryans and Mychal Kendricks started the game. Kiko Alonso came in during the second series and made an athletic interception on his back in the end zone.
It was the first interception in the end zone by an Eagles linebacker since Omar Gaither in September 2007.
Key stops
Fletcher Cox stuffed a run on 2nd-and-1 on the Falcons' opening drive. The Falcons had the ball at the Eagles' 21 but were forced to punt.
Malcolm Jenkins came up with the game's biggest stop, forcing a four-yard loss on a 3rd-and-1 Falcons rush that could have sealed the Eagles' fate with two minutes to go.
Secondary check
Early on, the Eagles had Nolan Carroll on Jones. That did not work. Maxwell went over to cover him toward the end of the half. That also did not work. Of course, the front-seven's inability to pressure Ryan whatsoever in the first half enabled Jones' routes to develop. Without pressure on the QB, even the Darrelle Revises will struggle against Jones.
Thurmond showed off his ball-hawking skills again with a game-changing interception of Ryan that began the second half. It gave the Eagles 1st-and-goal at the 8 and they scored two plays later.
Jenkins' hands of stone continue to impact the Eagles. He dropped two relatively easy interceptions. He had the same issue last season. The Eagles should have had four interceptions of Ryan.
Two other secondary tidbits: In three-wide sets, Jenkins was the slot corner and backup Chris Maragos came in to play safety. And when Carroll left the game for a play in the third quarter after getting dinged, it was E.J. Biggers, not Eric Rowe, who replaced him.
Up next
The Eagles host the Cowboys, who won't have WR Dez Bryant or pass rusher Randy Gregory, next Sunday at 4:25 p.m. Bryant has a fracture in his foot and Gregory has a high ankle sprain.