National Football League

Eagles snap Falcons' 4-game win streak, 31-17

Published Oct. 19, 2010 1:12 a.m. ET

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As a wobbly DeSean Jackson was helped from the field with a concussion, fellow Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin knew what had to happen.

The rest of Philadelphia's offensive players would need to make up for the absence of Jackson, who already had scored two touchdowns Sunday against Atlanta.

Maclin was the main man coming to the Eagles' rescue in a 31-17 victory that left both teams at 4-2, tied for the best record in the NFC.

''Anytime you lose any guy in your offense, especially somebody like that, everybody has to step up and have a good game,'' Maclin said. ''We have playmakers all around our offense. Today was just a day when I got a lot of balls. We always look for ways to give ourselves an advantage over our opponent.''

Maclin set career highs with seven receptions for 159 yards, with touchdowns of 8 and 83 yards. Kevin Kolb hit 23 of 29 passes for 326 yards replacing injured Michael Vick.

''That's the thing about us,'' Maclin said. ''We're going to be us no matter what. We're going to be who we are. We're going to throw the football, run the football and continue to attack and continue to look for big plays no matter what personnel we have in there.''

Jackson lay flat on the turf, motionless, in the second quarter after a head-on collision with Dunta Robinson. A few yards away, Robinson was just as immobile. The Eagles and Falcons gathered around the players who seconds before collided so violently that the Linc fell silent.

''Very scary,'' Maclin said.

Robinson, who drew a 15-yard penalty for hitting a defenseless receiver, suffered a head injury and, like Jackson, did not return.

''I mean you feel bad for DeSean, but you almost got to be kind of heartless about it,'' Eagles tight end Brent Celek said, ''because if you go out there thinking, `This is going to happen to me,' then you start playing fearful ... and then you start screwing up. You've got to kind of put it out of your mind and then think about it after the game.

''I hope he's OK.''

Neither Eagles coach Andy Reid nor Falcons coach Mike Smith would speculate on when their injured player would be back in the lineup.

Maclin helped Philadelphia snap the Falcons' four-game winning streak. So did Kolb as Atlanta, which was allowing 14 points a game, got blitzed, yielding 474 yards.

Kolb started because Vick still is sidelined with rib cartilage damage. The Eagles told Vick, serving as their third quarterback, to remain in the locker room all game.

''We just kept him in the locker room, not near the field,'' Reid said. ''Today, I just wanted him here. I wasn't going to let him get in the game and throw the ball. He was not getting hit (Sunday). The chances of him being in there were slim to none.''

Before he was sidelined by the hit to his helmet, Jackson was unstoppable. He gained 78 yards on three first-quarter touches, scoring on a 31-yard run and a 34-yard pass from Kolb for an early 14-0 edge.

''We were able to get a few big plays on them and able to put them in a bind,'' Reid said

With Jackson out, Jorrick Calvin and Maclin grabbed the spotlight. Calvin, a rookie cornerback, returned a punt 44 yards to start a drive capped by Maclin's 8-yard TD catch.

Philadelphia seemed headed for an even bigger first-half lead after Tony Gonzalez had a pass tip off his hands to cornerback Asante Samuel. Kolb had Celek wide open down the middle, but the pass was short and tipped twice before William Moore picked it off and made a weaving 34-yard return. Kolb used a horse-collar tackle to bring down Moore, adding 15 yards to the play.

A pass interference call on Joselio Hanson led to Gonzalez's 1-yard TD reception with 14 seconds left in the half, making it 21-7.

''I thought we had confidence at halftime,'' said quarterback Matt Ryan of nearby Exton, Pa. ''The defense gave us a big turnover and a short field, we were able to execute and punch it in.''

Gonzalez would add a 13-yard TD catch with 5:40 left, but the Eagles were too much defensively, particularly end Trent Cole, who had two sacks among his five tackles. Michael Turner rushed for only 45 yards.

''We made a big statement,'' Cole said. ''We're a great team, even though we've had some ugly games.''

Much of the ugliness Sunday belonged to Atlanta. But the Eagles had their share, particularly David Akers missing three field goals, all at the same end of the stadium.

Reid blamed a swirling wind for Akers' misses, but the kicker said that was not the problem. Nor was the fact he wore a pink shoe - the NFL is commemorating the fight against breast cancer this month, and Akers said his mother has had the disease - a factor.

''I just missed the kicks,'' he said.

Notes: Philadelphia has scored a TD on its opening drive three times this season. Since 2000, the Eagles are 35-9 when doing so. ... The Eagles have won a league-best 22 straight games when leading at halftime. ... Jackson has at least one TD rushing and receiving in each of his three NFL seasons, the first WR to do so since Jerry Rice from 1985-87 ... Atlanta was second in the league with 148.8 yards rushing per game, but gained only 65.