Asante Samuel stared directly at his former team’s sideline and started trash-talking right after the coin toss. By the fourth quarter, Samuel was dancing on the field between plays.
Matt Ryan made it easy for his loquacious teammate to gloat.
Ryan threw touchdown passes on Atlanta’s first three possessions against the Eagles and new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, and the Falcons remained the NFL’s only unbeaten team with a convincing 30-17 win yesterday in Philadelphia.
“We’re 7-0 over here baby,” Samuel said. “If I was over there now, they have to go to work.”
The Falcons are 7-0 for the first time in the franchise’s 47-year history while the Eagles (3-4) lost after a bye for the first time in 14 games under coach Andy Reid since 1999.
“That was an embarrassing performance,” Reid said. “I’m stating the obvious. We need to get better. I need to do a better job. This is fixable. We have the talent.”
Ryan finished 22 of 29 for 262 yards and three TDs for his first win against his hometown team in three tries.
Michael Vick didn’t turn the ball over for once, but he played so-so and failed to beat his former team in his second start against the Falcons since returning to the NFL in 2009.
“Whatever decision coach makes, I support it,” Vick said when asked about possibly being benched for rookie Nick Foles. “I know I’m giving it everything I have when I’m out there.”
Reid said he’s going to evaluate whether he makes a quarterback change.
Packers 24, Jaguars 15
In Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers connected with Donald Driver for a 4-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Mason Crosby made up for an earlier miss with a 25-yard field goal and the Packers escaped with a surprisingly tough victory over the NFL’s worst team, the Jaguars.
“It was definitely a grind-it-out type victory today,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.
Not a real pretty one, either. Still, it gave the Packers (5-3) a third straight victory.
Rodgers was 22 of 35 for 186 yards and two touchdowns, which moved him past Bart Starr into second place on the Green Bay career list with 153. Brett Favre holds the Packers record with 442 TDs..
Broncos 34, Saints 14
In Denver, Peyton Manning shook off a bleeding right thumb after banging it on an opponent’s helmet to throw for 305 yards and three scores and lead the Broncos past the Saints.
It was Manning’s fifth straight 300-yard game, setting a franchise record for Denver (4-3) and matching his personal best.
The Broncos won two in a row for the first time this season. They gained 530 yards against the Saints (2-5), who came in with the NFL’s worst defense.
Denver held Drew Brees and the league’s top-ranked passing offense to 213 yards passing in Joe Vitt’s debut as interim coach after serving a six-game suspension for the team’s bounty scandal.
Browns 7, Chargers 6
In Cleveland, the Chargers couldn’t stop rookie running back Trent Richardson, who might be the one to make Cleveland relevant once more.
Still playing with a rib injury, Richardson rushed for 122 yards and scored the game’s only touchdown on a 26-yard run to lead the Browns (2-6).