Vick injured in return to Atlanta; Falcons come back to beat Eagles

September 19, 2011 at 6:53AM

ATLANTA - Michael Vick wobbled off the field with an aching neck late in the third quarter, all done in his return to Atlanta as a starting quarterback.

This is Matt Ryan's city now, and he led the Falcons back with their former quarterback sitting in the locker room.

Ryan threw a career-high four touchdown passes, shaking off all the hoopla over Vick coming back to face his old team, and rallied Atlanta from a 10-point deficit for a 35-31 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.

Two of Ryan's TD throws went to ageless tight end Tony Gonzalez, who went past Terrell Owens into the fifth spot on the NFL's career receiving list. Then, Ryan hooked up with Ovie Mughelli on a 1-yard score that brought Atlanta to 31-28 with just over 6 minutes remaining.

The Falcons (1-1) completed the comeback with Michael Turner breaking off a 61-yard run, then powering over from the 3 with 3:24 remaining. Turner finished with 114 yards on 21 carries.

"It was a wild one, for sure, but we hung in there," Ryan said. "I think everybody hung in there and kept making plays, kept battling. Credit to guys on both sides of the ball -- we never gave up."

Vick left with what coach Andy Reid later described as a concussion.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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