PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a difficult loss to Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions in overtime on Sunday. Michael Vick, who is responsible for thirteen turnovers this season and seems to constantly be on the receiving end of vicious hits and knockdowns, continued the trend by throwing two picks and fumbling once. This Sunday was a particularly gritty one for Vick, who was actually hit so hard that his head fell off on two occasions, and on one third quarter play saw his own intestines knocked right out of his body.
In the second quarter, Vick dropped back in a four-receiver set, scanned the field, and was promptly annihilated by simultaneous hits from Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams. The combination of tackles was so aggressive that Michael Vick was decapitated on the play, with his entire head knocked off of his body. The play was not whistled dead, since technically Michael Vick’s helmet stayed on.
Midway through the third quarter, Vick was clobbered again by Vanden Bosch as he tried to rush for a first down. The ball came loose, and players from both teams dove in to recover the ball. When the pile was finally cleared up, Vick lay on the very bottom in a pool of his own viscera, his small intestine and the bulk of his colon unraveled beside him. Luckily for the Eagles, Vick had managed to avoid turning the ball over, as it was found lodged in the horrendous wound in his abdomen. He got up quickly, gathering his entrails, and was forced to punt two plays later.
By the time overtime began, Vick reportedly had lost all conception of where he was, which is typical for the resilient QB late in games. Overtime started with Vick being sacked twice in a row. On the second hit, again by Cliff Avril, Vick’s head was knocked clean off of his body for the second time, rolling all the way to the feet of head coach Andy Reid on the sideline. The hit was clean and no penalties were assessed.
“The second time his head popped off, I was just in disbelief,” said Eagles lineman Evan Mathis. “I’ve never seen anything like it. This guy redefines tough.”
Despite the difficult loss and the continuation of Michael Vick’s turnover problems, Philadelphia coach Andy Reid was optimistic at his post-game press conference. “I think its very encouraging how we’ve seen Michael Vick develop as a player these last few years,” Reid said. “He has no fear out there. He’s one of these guys who goes out there and leaves everything on the field week in and week out.”
While this is not the situation they want to be in, the Eagles are perhaps fortunate to be heading into a bye week. Team doctors estimate that Vick will need at least ten days to recover from his severe internal bleeding, various traumatic injuries, and twice-dislodged cranium.
