PHILADELPHIA — Thursday night began with a "special Philly" kind of moment as the Eagles unfurled the first Super Bowl banner in franchise history.
Later, the "Philly Special" returned to help catapult Philadelphia past the Atlanta Falcons 18-12 in the NFL's 2018 regular-season opener.
On a night when he struggled noticeably, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's final pass to Julio Jones in the end zone fell incomplete, producing a similar outcome to Atlanta's divisional playoff heartbreaker at Lincoln Financial Field in January.
Jay Ajayi scored two touchdowns, the second an 11-yard dash with 2:19 left in the game that put the Eagles ahead for good on a night when neither of the NFC's past two champs looked particularly Lombardi-worthy in a sloppy game marred by penalties and uninspired offense.
But Philadelphia did revert to some of its 2017 magic to get the victory.
Reprising the team's famous Super Bowl trick play — coach Doug Pederson had hinted last month the "Philly Special" had been retired — Eagles quarterback Nick Foles caught a 15-yard pass from receiver Nelson Agholor on a reverse (Agholor stood in for departed tight end Trey Burton on the play) in the third quarter, helping spark what had been a largely dormant offense with the team's longest play of the night to that point. Five plays later, Ajayi scored on a 1-yard run for a 10-6 lead.
Three other takeaways from Falcons-Eagles
Atlanta offense still stuck in neutral: Two years removed from the offensive fireworks that propelled them to Super Bowl LI, the Falcons' struggles to generate points under coordinator Steve Sarkisian continued. Atlanta outgained Philadelphia 113-0 in the first quarter but only managed to take a 3-0 lead despite two trips deep into the red zone, the first ending when Devonta Freeman was thrown for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The Falcons' only touchdown, a 9-yard run by Tevin Coleman, was set up by Deion Jones' interception. Ryan, the 2016 league MVP, completed just 21 of 43 passes for 251 yards and threw an ugly interception near the pylon to kill one second half drive. Jones accounted for 180 of Atlanta's 299 yards, and the team converted just one of five red zone attempts on the night.
Welcome back: Several key Eagles returned to the lineup after suffering season-ending injuries on the road to the Super Bowl last year. Running back Darren Sproles was used extensively as part of a backfield committee and on punt returns, totaling 61 all-purpose yards on 12 touches. Linebacker Jordan Hicks recorded 1 1/2 sacks and a team-high seven tackles. And perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters was back anchoring the blind side in front of Foles. Of course, the Eagles were hardly at full strength with quarterback Carson Wentz (knee) and receiver Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) still not ready to play.
Still not sure what a catch is: The NFL attempted to simplify its often perplexing definition of a catch in the offseason. Jones is probably still confused. Atlanta's star receiver seemed to corral a field-flipping throw from Ryan early in the third quarter, first bobbling the deep shot before appearing to gain control as he slid out of bounds. However the officials ruled he didn't have possession, an arguably dubious verdict that was upheld when Falcons coach Dan Quinn challenged it.
Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
