Eagles–Falcons rivalry

The Eagles–Falcons rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons. The rivalry first emerged when the Falcons rallied in the fourth quarter against the Eagles in the 1978 Wild Card Round, and only intensified further in the 2000s with the emergence of star dual-threat quarterbacks in Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick.

The two teams do not play every year; instead, they play once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium due to the NFL's rotating division schedules during which the NFC East and NFC South are paired up against each other, sometimes more often if they meet in the playoffs, or if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions, they would play each other the following season.

History
As of 2021, the Eagles lead the all-time series 21–15–1, and have a 3–1 playoff record. The Eagles were the Falcons' second-ever opponent in the latter's inaugural 1966 season. In that game, Philadelphia won 23–10 as Atlanta went on to finish their first season at 3–11. It was not until 1978, however, that the rivalry truly took off.

1978 Wild Card Round
The Falcons finished the 1978 season 9–7, earning their first-ever playoff berth. Their reward was a home playoff game against the Eagles in the Wild Card Round. The Falcons initially trailed 13–0, but rallied to win 14–13. The turning point of the game came when Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski launched a deep pass to wide receiver Wallace Francis, who simultaneously caught the ball with Eagles defender Herm Edwards. Under NFL rules, Atlanta maintained possession following the simultaneous catch, gaining 49 yards in the process. Bartkowski later connected with tight end Jim Mitchell for a 20-yard touchdown, followed by a 37-yard touchdown pass to Francis late in the fourth quarter. Falcons kicker Tim Mazzetti scored the extra point to give Atlanta the lead. Philadelphia punter Mike Michel, who was thrust into kicking duties after a late-season injury to placekicker Nick Mike-Mayer, missed a potential game-winning 34-yard field goal, and was cut soon after.

2000s: Donovan McNabb vs. Michael Vick
Both the Eagles and Falcons would meet almost frequently over the next several years, but in the early 2000s, the rivalry was reignited with the arrival of Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick. The two mobile quarterbacks met for the first time in the 2002 Divisional Round. However, the game failed to live up to the billing, as the Eagles defense sacked Vick (274 passing yards, 30 rushing yards) three times and forced two interceptions, including a 39-yard touchdown return by Bobby Taylor. Meanwhile, McNabb finished with 247 passing yards, 24 rushing yards and a touchdown as Philadelphia won 20–6.

McNabb and Vick would meet once more in the 2004 NFC Championship Game, but the result again favored the Eagles in a 27–10 blowout victory. While McNabb had 180 passing yards, 32 rushing yards and two touchdowns (both were thrown to tight end Chad Lewis), Vick only managed 136 passing yards and 26 rushing yards. Vick was also sacked four times and intercepted twice.

McNabb had defeated Vick in each of their first two meetings, but in Week 1 of the 2005 season, Vick finally bested McNabb in a meaningful contest. In the Monday Night Football opener (the series' final season with ABC until 2020), the Falcons defeated the Eagles 14–10, with Vick scoring the game's first touchdown on a seven-yard run. Overall, the two quarterbacks faced each other in only three of a possible five times during their respective tenures with the Eagles and Falcons. In, Vick missed the Eagles–Falcons game due to a leg injury he suffered in the preseason; the Eagles won 23–16. Then in, McNabb did not play due to a serious knee injury in the Eagles' 24–17 win.

Following a dog-fighting scandal and a 21-month prison sentence, Vick was released by the Falcons after the 2008 season. The Eagles eventually signed Vick prior to the 2009 season, and in his first game in Atlanta with the Eagles, Vick scored two touchdowns while serving as McNabb's backup in the Eagles' 34–7 rout. Vick eventually reclaimed the starting job during the 2010 season after McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins.

Recent years
After releasing Vick, the Falcons groomed Matt Ryan, a Philadelphia native, whom they chose with the third pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, as its new starter. In the 2011 season, Ryan and Vick faced each other for the first time as starting quarterbacks. Vick's second return in Atlanta did not go well, as he suffered a concussion and left the game. Ryan's four touchdowns helped the Falcons defeat the Eagles 35–31, his first career victory over Philadelphia. Ryan also defeated Vick in as the Falcons cruised to a 30–17 victory. It was also Atlanta's first win in Philadelphia since.

The Eagles and Falcons would not meet again until the Kickoff of the 2015 NFL season under the Monday Night Football lights. A new look Eagles led by quarterback Sam Bradford and third-year coach Chip Kelly against Matt Ryan and new Falcons head coach Dan Quinn. Despite a 20–3 lead mounted by the Falcons going into halftime, the Eagles came back and took the lead midway in the fourth quarter with a Ryan Mathews rushing touchdown that gave the Eagles a narrow 24–23 lead. However, the Falcons drove down the field and regained the lead with a Matt Bryant field goal. The Falcons defense sealed the win with a Ricardo Allen interception off of Bradford. This would eventually be the Eagles' last visit to the Georgia Dome as the stadium was replaced by the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.

The two teams would meet again the following season with the 6–3 Falcons, sporting a high-flying Falcons offense led by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, going up against a 4–4 Eagles team now led by the rookie quarterback-head coach tandem of 2016 second overall pick Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson. Despite the Falcons being favorites entering the game, the Eagles mostly held them in check and didn't allow them to score a touchdown until the fourth quarter, when Matt Ryan found receiver Taylor Gabriel for a 76-yard touchdown pass to take a 15–13 lead (Matt Bryant missed the extra point after). However, the Eagles answered with 11 unanswered points and held on for a 24–15 upset win.

The Eagles and Falcons resumed their playoff rivalry in the 2017 Divisional Round. While Ryan had remained the Falcons' quarterback to that point, the Eagles were now led by Nick Foles, who originally replaced Vick in and later replaced an injured Carson Wentz as the starter that season. The Falcons entered the contest as the defending NFC champions, while the Eagles were the top seed in the NFC. Despite being home underdogs, the Eagles managed to win 15–10 after stopping the Falcons on a goal-line stand in the final minute. Foles passed for 246 yards, while Ryan ended up with 210 passing yards and a touchdown. The game's key points were scored by Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, who scored three consecutive field goals after the Eagles trailed 10–9 in the second quarter.

A rematch took place in the form of the 2018 NFL Kickoff Game. Much like their playoff meeting the previous year, the Eagles defense stopped yet another potential Falcons' game-winning touchdown in an 18–12 victory. Eagles running back Jay Ajayi scored the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles broke up a potential Ryan touchdown pass to Julio Jones on the final play following an illegal contact on fourth down gave the Falcons one additional play.

The following season, the two teams met again in Week 2 on Sunday Night Football. In the first meeting between the two teams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Falcons prevailed, defeating the Eagles 24–20 in part due to a go-ahead, 54-yard touchdown by Julio Jones off of a screen pass from Matt Ryan late in the game.

The Eagles and Falcons met again in Week 1 the season, but this time it was Ryan with new head coach Arthur Smith (who replaced Dan Quinn after a 5-year run with the franchise) against a young and rebuilding Eagles team led by second year quarterback Jalen Hurts and new head coach Nick Sirianni. The Eagles dominated the game from start to finish en route to a 32–6 win over the Falcons.