Michael Vick returns to Atlanta, loses

One of the more interesting homecomings for any player this season in the National Football League played out Sunday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Michael Vick, once the present and future quarterback of the Falcons, returned to the capital of the South as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.

After spending time behind bars for dogfighting and being released by Atlanta, Vick became NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2010 by leading the Eagles to the NFC playoffs.

Sunday night was the first time Vick played in Atlanta since filling in for Donovan McNabb as Eagles quarterback during a game late in the 2009 season.

It was quite the contest between the Eagles and Falcons, with both teams defenses trying to apply maximum pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. The Falcons led, 14-10, at the half. Philadelphia then outscored Atlanta, 21-7, in the third quarter to take a 31-21 lead.

However, Vick was lost to the Eagles due to injury late in the quarter.

Before his injury, Vick was 19 of 28 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 25 yards.

After that point, it became the Matt Ryan show, as the Falcons' young quarterback engineered a pair of scoring drives, putting his team in front to stay. Ryan was helped by running back Michael Turner, who added 114 yards on the ground.

Vick's playing status for next week's game against the Giants is uncertain, as of Monday afternoon.