Vick clicks for Eagles in 28-3 win over Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - There are 13 games left in the season, three or four more if you count the playoffs. So there are quite a few steps to go before Andy Reid can be labeled a genius.

But the Eagles' coach probably upped his IQ slightly - at least in the eyes of his critics - after his controversial decision to switch starting quarterbacks two games into the season netted another outstanding performance from Michael Vick - and another victory.

This time, however, the Eagles received a full team effort, and the result Sunday was a 28-3 pounding of the even-worse-than-the-Detroit-Lions Jacksonville Jaguars. It was the franchise's first win over the AFC South Division team after three losses and its first win at EverBank Field, which, of course, included the defeat to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

After all the turmoil - both internal and external - the Eagles are 2-1 and sit alone atop the NFC East. It's the way many predicted the team would start, but no one could have forecast the way it would get there before the highly anticipated return of Donovan McNabb to Lincoln Financial Field next Sunday.

It will be Vick vs. McNabb, and who would have thought the new Eagles quarterback would be playing better than the traded franchise quarterback and the starting quarterback (Kevin Kolb) he replaced permanently when Reid made the announcement Tuesday?

"He played his heart out today, so it's more about him than me or anything else," Reid said of Vick. "It's a tribute to what he has done and how he has handled things. I'm proud of him for doing that."

Vick completed 17 of 31 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a 17-yard score. But his accomplishments didn't end there. Vick has yet to throw an interception in 89 passes this season. In each of his first three games, he's had a passer rating of more than 100, the first time he's ever accomplished that feat in his career.

"I'm having a lot of fun," Vick said. "This is a rough game. You just have as much fun as you make the game. When you put a lot of pressure on yourself, it doesn't become too fun. I got to a point in this game that I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to make plays. The guys just told me to relax, and I did."

Vick said he had never felt pressure, however, to justify Reid's decision to reverse field and hand him the position. Reid, though, did receive some criticism and was asked if the win was therefore more rewarding.

"I don't care about the bullets," Reid said. "I figured you [reporters] would throw a few at me, and that might make me a little tougher."

Vick said he had been able to put aside the distractions by Thursday and concentrate on the Jaguars.

"But it is a sigh of relief," he said. "We can move on and not have to talk about it anymore."

Vick, indeed, did put the quarterback controversy to rest, at least for now. After Vick connected with DeSean Jackson for his first touchdown throw - a 61-yard catch-and-run dash by the speedy receiver - Kolb was the first to congratulate his quarterback competitor as Vick came to the sideline.

"It was tough, but it's not too tough when you win like that," Kolb said about not playing. "Mike and I always talk about that we're far better friends and better teammates than we are letting this situation get in between us. I was happy for him."

Even though the Eagles led by 25 late in the third quarter, Kolb didn't start warming up to go in until less than four minutes were left, and he never got the opportunity to play.

Nor was there ever the chance for the significantly large turnout of Eagles fans to call for Kolb if Vick got off to a bad start. Vick's accuracy wasn't great early on, but he and the offense never panicked.

"We had the whole week to go out there and prepare," Jackson said. "We put in the extra work. We stayed after practice later than usual."

Jackson had his second straight 100-yard receiving game, catching five passes for 153 yards. His 61-yard touchdown gave him his first 50-yard-plus score a season after matching the NFL mark of eight in a season.

Jackson's counterpart, Jeremy Maclin, was just as good, finishing with four receptions for 83 yards and two scores. He and Vick have hooked up for four touchdowns, with two coming in two-minute drives just before the half in the last two weeks.

Maclin "always gives me a hard time like, 'Aw, man you're getting all the plays, and you're scoring all the touchdowns,' " Jackson said. "One thing about that I tell them is, 'They got to play honest.' "

Vick has led the Eagles to seven touchdowns in eight trips inside the red zone, an area where Reid-coached teams struggled in the last few years.

"I get down there, and my eyes light up," Vick said.

This is where the disclaimer must come in. It must be stated that Jacksonville is not a good team, or at least didn't play as if it were one Sunday.

Quarterback David Garrard completed just 13 of 30 passes for 105 yards. He threw one interception to cornerback Asante Samuel, although there could have been more. Jacksonville was determined to run the ball and run it early, but the Eagles run-stoppers, buoyed by the return of linebacker Stewart Bradley, were up the challenge.

"It's a big factor from a leadership standpoint for our overall defense," Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said about Bradley's return from a concussion. "You've got to love having Stew back in the middle. He's not the only guy playing. Let's keep that in mind."

The unit recorded six sacks, led by Trent Cole's two, and held Jacksonville's offense to just 184 total yards.

"When our front seven play like that, we can be dominant," safety Quintin Mikell said.

They'll face an old friend Sunday in McNabb. It's going to be quite a show.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver DeSean Jackson have already hooked up for six passes this season that have gone for at least 25 yards, and two of them have gone for touchdowns.

Here is a look at those passes and the results:

Against the Jaguars on Sunday

61 yards for a touchdown on third and 16 to give the Birds a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

42 yards on first and 10 to put the ball on the Jacksonville 30 in the third quarter. Vick scored on a 17-yard scramble five plays later.

25 yards on second and 5 to move the ball to the Eagles' 47 in the second quarter. The Eagles lost the ball on downs at the Jags' 26.

Against the Lions on Sept. 19

53 yards on second and 2 to put the ball on the Detroit 17 in the second quarter. Vick threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin four plays later.

45 yards for a touchdown on first and 10 to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

29 yards on third and 14 in the third quarter to advance the ball to the Lions 40. LeSean McCoy scored from 4 yards out six plays later.

EndText

Find Eagles updates

all day at http://go.philly

.com/eaglesEndText