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Halftime: Falcons Extend Lead

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The #Eagles began Week 1 of the regular season in Atlanta for Monday Night Football. View the full gallery here...

In the first quarter, the Eagles were held to just 35 total yards and two first downs as they were forced to punt on each of their four possessions. But despite Philadelphia's slow start on the offensive end, they were able to hold the Falcons to just three points thanks in part to a redzone interception by linebacker Kiko Alonso midway through the opening quarter.

Atlanta came out of the first break with possession near midfield in their own zone. After working their way down to the Eagles' goal line thanks to a 6-for-6 drive by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, they capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown strike to Julio Jones.

The Eagles took over down 10-0 with 10:44 left in the second quarter and strung together their first scoring drive of the night, methodically working their way down the field and converting a key 4th-and-1 at the Atlanta 37 before later settling for a 29-yard Cody Parkey field goal to make it 10-3. That 69-yard drive tripled Philadelphia's offensive yardage from their first four drives combined.

On the ensuing Atlanta drive, the Eagles' defense clamped down and forced a three-and-out. After a 59-yard Matt Bosher punt and five-yard holding penalty, Philadelphia took over on their own six-yard line. The Eagles, though, also went three-and-out and were forced to punt from their own end zone, giving Atlanta possession at the Philadelphia 46 with 5:17 left until halftime.

The Falcons took their time, getting down to the Eagles' 15 before a huge defensive stop by Philadelphia on 3rd-and-1 with 1:10 left. That set up a 39-yard Matt Bryant field goal, and Atlanta extended their lead to 13-3.

Sam Bradford and the Eagles took over at their own 20, looking to work quickly and put some points on the board with just over a minute to go until halftime. But an interception by William Moore on first down gave Atlanta the ball on the Eagles' 27-yard line.

On the very next play, Ryan was sacked by Fletcher Cox, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Connor Barwin. But an illegal contact call on Kiko Alonso negated that play and gave Atlanta another shot at first down. This time, the result was a 22-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones down the right sideline, extending the difference to 20-3.

With just 14 seconds left on the clock and possession at their own 20, the Eagles elected to run out the clock to end the first half. 

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