Kevin Kolb was simply marvelous in Sunday's 31-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Kolb completed 23 of 29 pass attempts for 326 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for a QB rating of 133.6. He set career highs in completion percentage (79.3 percent), QB rating, touchdowns and longest pass, an 83-yard touchdown in the third quarter to Jeremy Maclin.
The Eagles won the time of possession battle. The Eagles gained a first down on every drive except for two, and one of those was when the team ran out the clock to end the first half. Kolb was accurate and helped the Eagles convert seven of 14 third-down opportunities. The protection for Kolb was outstanding as he was only sacked once. And every time the Falcons tried to mount some sort of comeback, the Eagles had an answer.
"It was very important and we let a lot of stuff slip away," Kolb said. "We left a lot of points out there. My pick before the half was a huge turning point, so that was frustrating, but the defense answered. We answered at times. Special teams answered and so that was another good team win. That's the kind you want to have."
For the third time in five career starts, Kolb amassed over 300 passing yards. Kolb accomplished that in each of his two starts in 2009. A year later, Kolb believes that those performances last season were very similar to Sunday's.
"Today, the game was pretty slow to me. I thought I saw things very clear and that's what's important. When it gets like that, that's when you start to get into a rhythm and trust things," Kolb said. "I thought I had some of that last year and I felt like I had some of that this year."
Even on the heels of back-to-back wins and two impressive performances, head coach Andy Reid stated after the game that Michael Vick will return to the starting lineup when he is healthy.
"Andy has always thought things through very thoroughly. And he always has a rhyme and reason and they usually turn out the right way for why he does stuff. And so, again, I'll just trust and believe and so will the teammates," Kolb said. "You just concentrate on what you do and you try to play the position the best you know how and keep improving every week. That's all I can do."
It was a very scary moment for Kolb early in the second quarter when he led DeSean Jackson on a crossing route over the middle, only for Jackson to get leveled by cornerback Dunta Robinson. Jackson left the game with a concussion, which Kolb himself suffered back in Week 1.
"I just felt so bad, you know, because I'm part of the play and never saw the guy. We're just hoping for the best. I saw his arm move a little bit because they were messing with his neck. It's just never a good situation when they're both laying like that," Kolb said. "I hope their guy is OK as well. DeSean is a tough guy. I know he'll be back out there when he can but we have to take this concussion thing super serious because it is."
Without the team's most deadly playmaker, Kolb was poised and finished 17 of 21 for 240 yards with two touchdowns in Jackson's absence. Kolb's teammates were certainly not surprised by his performance.
"Nobody's surprised or shocked. We know how good Kevin is. It just happens that we have two great quarterbacks," running back LeSean McCoy said. "So going out there and seeing Kevin play like that is no surprise to me."
Kolb wants to play, but he's truly proud of how his teammates have handled the whole quarterback situation.
"We have confidence in whoever is out there. I think that's the way the team approached it, I really do. I want to be out there. Again, I trust Andy to make the right decision for everybody and we believe in that," Kolb said. "I want to give credit to the offense, and really the whole team, but whoever is in there they've been fighting and doing a heck of a job for both guys. That's not easy - right handed, left handed, different styles, different cadence. You have to give credit to them for the week of preparation that we have."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 8:20 p.m., October 17
