If Andy Reid intended to send Michael Vick a message with his "we're evaluating as we go" statement - and it says here he did - it was a communication that hit its intended target.
The Eagles quarterback was efficient, decisive, and nearly error-free Sunday night - everything he wasn't for more than two of his first three games this season. Vick was the offensive leader the Eagles need if they are to build upon a 3-1 start that feels like anything but.
But 3-1 and a half game atop the NFC East the Eagles are after they won a nail-biter over the New York Giants, 19-17, at Lincoln Financial Field.
With a stout defense, Vick was the kind of quarterback who can win games in this league and not have to always win them on his own. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. He completed 63 percent of his passes.
And . . . he had no turnovers. After a first three games in which he turned the ball over a whopping nine times, Vick protected the football. He fulfilled the No. 1 job of any quarterback worth his salt, and it made all the difference.
"Yes, I didn't turn the ball over," Vick said. "Just play smarter. Thing is, in this game, you can't force opportunities on the defense. You've got to let it come. And I'll be honest, missing the preseason did affect me to a certain extent, but now I'm getting into my groove."
Will he be that guy next week? Who knows?
This is a roller coaster that Reid, the Eagles, and all Eagles fans will have to ride for the rest of the season, if he avoids injuries. That's a significant if with the pounding Vick takes week in and week out.
But that's where we find ourselves at the quarter pole. Love him or hate him - or just close your eyes when you watch him - Vick is the Eagles quarterback for the rest of this season, because you never know when you're going to get the quarterback at his finest.
And Vick was very good Sunday night against a defense that's as fierce as any in the NFC.
"He found himself tonight," Reid said.
Vick didn't do it all on his own. Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg finally gave the 32-year-old a game plan that did not call for him to drop back 75 percent of the time. They called 10 run plays (!) in the first half, and though it did not net the Eagles many yards, it did set up what happened in the second half.
LeSean McCoy ran six times for only 2 yards in the first half. In the second, he showed why the Eagles handed him a $45 million contract in May. If the game plan hadn't been so effective, there might have been some hand-wringing over how horrendous the play calling was in Cleveland and Arizona earlier this year.
But Vick and the offense survived a first half in which the offense - both offenses for that matter - could do very little. The Giants blitzed the heck out of Vick because, well, that's what you do against a quarterback who has a 47 passer rating against the blitz.
But Vick did something he hadn't done in the first three games when the pressure was on: He kept his composure. He had no turnovers, made no mistakes, and was a game manager.
That's what he had to be in this game, an NFC East division slugfest that harked back to the early 2000s when Brian Dawkins - whose No. 20 was retired Sunday night - led an Eagles team that often lost the close ones to the Giants until they turned it around on a Monday night in 2001.
And where did this Vick come from? Maybe it's coincidence, maybe Vick was due to deliver a performance of this grade, but Reid's Monday message had its desired effect if he in fact wanted to put his starter on edge.
"You're talking about a great player here," Reid said. "And he got caught in a few turnovers early here and a few last year, and then he settled down and played very good football down the stretch. This is what I expect of him."
Reid later said his comment that Vick was the Eagles' quarterback "right now" was misinterpreted. He called it a case of "bad semantics." And Vick later said after he met with Reid that he never interpreted his coach's comments as a warning.
But, again, the proof was in the performance. Two instances, in particular, stood out. They weren't great plays by any means, and the Eagles had to settle for field goals on both occasions. But the two times Vick was out of the pocket in the red zone in the second half he took sacks on third down rather than throw the ball across the body, or throw into double coverage, or do something that warranted Reid's Monday message.
The Eagles won a big divisional game, but Vick won back his confidence.
It took a little nudge from Reid for him to get it back.
Contact Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745 or jmclane@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @Jeff_McLane.
