The Philadelphia Eagles had no choice but to let Michael Vick start one last time on Dec. 30. However, the Eagles might have been better off letting Trent Edwards start instead. Vick didn’t do much, but he did quite enough on his first drive to doom Philadelphia to a 42-7 loss against the New York Giants.
After the Eagles recovered an onside kick on the first play, the stage was set for Vick to keep the momentum going. Yet in his first drive since suffering a concussion on Nov. 11, he ended it with an interception that led to the Giants’ first touchdown. And although Vick and the Eagles didn’t commit another turnover, that one was enough to seal their fate.
Vick briefly came to life in the second quarter, when he threw for a touchdown and nearly drove the Eagles to another one. But that drive ended with a missed chip shot field goal from Alex Henery and killed any hopes for a comeback. Then when Vick failed to convert a fourth-down at midfield with under a minute left in the half, the Giants quickly scored one last touchdown for a 35-7 halftime lead.
There was nothing Philadelphia could do after that, except run out the last 30 minutes of Vick and Andy Reid’s Eagles careers. If Vick wanted to make a statement to his future suitors in free agency, he didn’t give them many positives to go on.
His 19-for-35, 197 yard performance didn’t justify bringing him back for one more meaningless game with the Eagles. In fact, Vick might have been better off sitting out and keeping the mystery alive for his new team. Maybe he’ll be healthier and better with a full offseason of healing and a new start somewhere else, but even a healthy Vick may not be what he once was.
Technically, since he only had one turnover in this game, it was one of his better performances in 2012. And he only had one combined turnover in two games against the Giants this year, so he seemed to be at his best when facing them.
Nevertheless, even when Vick made just one mistake, it was enough to ruin him and the Eagles one final time. But unless Chip Kelly, Jon Gruden or another new Philadelphia coach wants to give Vick another second wind, this is no longer the Eagles’ problem.
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