Afterward, coach Andy Reid said Vick suffered a concussion. Vick was to fly home with the team, but it appears he will miss Sunday's home opener against the Giants and that backup Mike Kafka might have played his way into a starting job while Vick recovers.
While, to a man the Eagles were impressed with Kafka's performance, they recognize Vick's value.
"Talent like that - you do not replace it," said running back LeSean McCoy. "We've got to protect Mike better. I've got to protect Mike better."
On the drive before that one, Maclin absorbed a helmet to the chin from headhunter cornerback Dunta Robinson, who dealt DeSean Jackson a concussion last year on a similar play. Maclin looked like he was destroyed . . . but he returned two plays later. He had already caught two TDs.
"Now he's 2-for-2," Maclin said of Robinson. "I was all right. It almost shocked me."
He later snared a 43-yard bomb from Kafka, the only other quarterback on the Eagles' active roster. Vince Young was inactive, still nursing a preseason hamstring injury. Maclin finished with 13 catches, 171 yards and immeasurable respect from his teammates.
That bomb took the Eagles into Falcons' territory with just under 4 minutes to play, a crisp drive engineered by Kafka in his first regular-season playing time since he was drafted in the fourth round last year.
It was Kafka's finest hour. The drive died with 1:41 to play when Maclin dropped Kafka's fourth-and-4 pass from the Atlanta 22 in the middle of the field.
"I'm better than that," Maclin said.
Vick was often scintillating, but he was far from perfect.
He fumbled twice, one of which led to a touchdown, and threw an interception that also led to a touchdown. He was not sacked.
