Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons: 6 Things We Learned from Sunday's Win

Sunday night was going to be the night where Matt Ryan and Michael Vick finally faced off to justify the fate of the city of Atlanta's pro football franchise, but once again a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons ends with an underwhelming conclusion.

Michael Vick, despite committing three turnovers, was a dominant offensive force and helped give the Eagles an impressive comeback from a 21-10 deficit.

Philadelphia led 24-21 when Vick was slung into the side of his own offensive lineman, causing a bloody mouth and a concussion.

The Eagles scored at that same drive just a few plays later, but the momentum immediately turned with Vick out of the game.

Matt Ryan, who struggled for most of the game, came alive late to help give the Falcons a 35-31 win.

Ryan's four touchdown performance could be overshadowed by the fact the Eagles lost Vick. 

Whether or not his absence was relevant or not, a lot of staggering developments came from this Week 2 showcase.

Here's a list of six things we learned from the marquee matchup.

The Falcons Have Major Secondary Issues

This isn't necessarily from an individual standpoint. As a team, the Falcons have given up a ton of passing yards in their first two contests.

Against gunslingers like Jay Cutler and Michael Vick, especially with the fire power on the Eagles offense, this might deserve a shrug and a pass from Falcons fans.

But, the size of the gaps Atlanta is allowing in zone pass coverage has been frighteningly bad.

The pass rush, with the addition of Ray Edwards, is supposed to mix well with zone defense to create problems for quarterbacks.

But, the Falcons have not been getting to the quarterback. Against a player like Michael Vick, that might be excusable, but the defense should adjust accordingly. Receivers are running up and down the field against this team like there's only three defenders out there.

Vick threw for 242 yards, and Kafka 72, but stats cannot describe how bad this pass defense looks. 

Sure, against most teams the Falcons should generate rush and the zone defense should create plays, but that's not going to work against the Saints, Eagles and Packers. Those are the teams Atlanta needs to compete with.

Trent Cole Is a One-Man Show

Nothing was more impressive tonight than the performance from Eagles rush end Trent Cole.

The "undersized" lineman from Cincinnati made the Falcons "nasty" offensive line look like a bunch of amateurs, registering a sack and making countless plays in the backfield.

Sam Baker, the Falcons young left tackle, was especially manhandled by Cole.

The sad part was the fact Atlanta took nearly three entire quarters before it realized just how dominant Cole was.

The Falcons continuously ran to and away from him, and continued to get taken down by him. The wide defensive front formation the Eagles use obviously caused some confusion within the Falcons' offensive attack.

Cole was eating up plays that went his way, but also was quick enough to catch the backside of run plays to the opposite side. He's really starting to emerge as a superstar.

The Falcons Running Game Still Needs a Boost

I feel like I'm the only person that believes Atlanta's current running attack is fool's gold.

Sure, Michael Turner carried for over 1,000 yards last season, but again and again the Falcons and Turner struggle to push forward against the top opponents.

Atlanta got lucky today with a big-time breakaway run from Turner of over 60 yards on the Falcons' go-ahead touchdown drive, scoring with less than five minutes to go in the game.

But, aside from that, the Falcons rushing attack seems to always hit a wall.

For the past few years Atlanta has seen a lot of long yardage situations on second and third down-, and Matt Ryan has been able to bail them out on multiple occasions.

It's an inconsistent part of the offense that makes up for itself with big runs, and better games from Turner against poor teams.

But, the Falcons have not completely flexed their muscle with their front five and they still need to find a guy who can be a change up in the backfield. Jazquizz Rodgers might be that guy, but it's going to take time before he's completely incorporated.

I want to see a team that can dictate long drives on the ground, not big plays on the ground. You can't rely on that 50-yard touchdown run every game, especially in the playoffs.

Michael Vick Is Going To Have a Great Career in Philadelphia

Vick just seems like a completely different guy, compared to the person he was when he played in the red jersey.

Despite the atmosphere tonight, Vick was cool, calm and collected for most of the game. I feel like his three turnovers (two were his fault) were minor mishaps that will be cleaned up.

What you see from this guy is an updated version of the old.

Vick not only is still an athletic freak when it comes to running the ball, but he looks as good as any other NFL quarterback when it comes to making passes out of the pocket.

That quick release he was so famous for in Atlanta has evolved into one dangerous weapon. He just seems exponentially more cognitive.

Vick finished 19 of 28 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with a concussion.

Dunta Robinson, So Far, Is Not Worth the Money

Brent Grimes, a former practice squad player who signed a tender this offseason to stay with the team, was super solid tonight against the Eagles' pass defense.

Dunta Robinson, however, has continued to slide down the ladder with poor play.

He already missed countless tackles and took terrible angles against Chicago in Week 1, but tonight he added insult to injury.

Again, Robinson missed tackles. It also seems like the only time he gets his name called is when he lays an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver.

The worst part of the game came on a touchdown he seemingly was responsible for. Atlanta was playing a man-to-man coverage on the goal line when Robinson, who was matched up with Jeremy Maclin, released Maclin to the inside to cover a zone.

While Robinson was standing next to his teammate, who had coverage of DeSean Jackson, Maclin crossed the field and ended up being the only player for either team on that side.

It was an easy touchdown.

He also gave up a long pass late in which he was seen yelling commands at his fellow safety while the ball was flying over his head. Considering it was a deep, deep corner route, and Robinson turned his back to cover man to man, you wonder what Robinson was doing there.

Unless he was responsible for the bottom third, it was nobody's fault but his.

Robinson, who was signed to a big-time contract two years ago, really needs to step up his play. He's already receiving a lot of criticism from fans.

Matt Ryan Has "It"

You've probably heard this before, but Matt Ryan is one special football player.

With the Falcons trailing 31-21 late in the game, my initial thought was that Ryan had to complete a comeback to justify his status as an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Rodney Harrison even said on the NBC pregame show that Ryan has a "weak" arm and struggles to throw the ball deep.

That might actually be true. Ryan does put a lot of air under his deep passes due to a lack of arm strength, which contributes to the lack of explosive plays in the offense.

But, who cares? Ryan took over the game. He was the one that got the offense going and lead the comeback. Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, who's play-calling received boos for most of the game, turned the playbook over to Ryan.

Ryan ran the no-huddle offense with a Manning-esque presence and gave the Falcons a signature win. This franchise is definitely going to live or die on the "weak" arm of Matty Ice.