CHICAGO – This loss unfolded in eerily familiar fashion.
With the Eagles poised for a big score, a costly turnover reversed momentum, and they couldn’t recover. Michael Vick threw his first interception of the season, committing the Eagles’ second red-zone turnover of the year. Much like the first one – against Tennessee on Oct. 24 – the turnover tilted the game away from Andy Reid’s team. And for the first time since that Titans game, the Eagles lost, falling to the Chicago Bears, 31-26, on Sunday.
Vick’s pass for Jeremy Maclin just after the two-minute warning in the second quarter was tipped and picked off by Chris Harris, who returned the ball 39 yards.
“That interception was just deflating to us as a team,” Vick said. It came with the Eagles trailing by one but with the ball on the Bears’ 4-yard line and the Birds in position for a go-ahead touchdown or field goal.
“The turning point in the game was the turnover,” Vick said. “We make that play, and I think it’s a different ball game.”
Indeed, the Bears took the ball and drove 63 yards for a touchdown, extending their lead to eight points. They opened the second half with a quick touchdown and a field goal at the end of a 10-minute, 5-second drive to take a commanding 31-13 lead.
“You can’t have a team of that caliber with their back to the wall and have an interception take place, have missed protection, and so on,” Reid said. “You can’t do that and expect to come out on top.”
Full story: Vick and Eagles fall short in Chicago, 31-26 | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/29/2010