 Coming off their bye week, the Falcons flew to Lincoln Financial Field for a Week 8 duel with the Philadelphia Eagles, as rookie quarterback Matt Ryan (a native of the Philly suburb of Exton, Pennsylvania) took on his hometown team. Ryan threw for 277 yards in his seventh career start but also had a pair of interceptions. The defense held the Eagles after the first turnover but Ryan's second mistake came in the end zone, eliminating a red-zone scoring chance. After a scoreless first quarter, Atlanta finally took flight in the second quarter as Ryan completed a 55-yard TD pass to WR Roddy White with 8:56 remaining in the first half when he threaded a pass between two Eagles defenders. White scampered toward the end zone for a 55-yard score and a 7-0 lead."We had worked on that fade pass all week in practice and Matt threw it up there and really I should have batted the ball down", said White, who had 113 receiving yards. "I think on that play, I had the responsibility to help him out. We thought we were going to put some points on the board and we let it get away from us. I put that play on myself, because I really should have knocked that down." White tallied his third consecutive 100-yard game after catching eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. White has now posted four 100-yard games this season and 11 for his career, the 55-yard strike is the third longest pass for the rookie quarterback this season. The second score came on an eight-yard pass in the fourth quarter, Ryan returned to the sight of first collegiate touchdown pass at Lincoln Financial Field against the Temple Owls on November 20, 2004. But Philadelphia responded with 20 unanswered points, including scoring drives of 60, 70 and 69 yards. Twice McNabb scrambled for key first downs. The Falcons did not record a sack in the second half. The Falcons run game sputtered and suffered from untimely penalties. Starting left tackle Sam Baker missed the game with a hip injury and was replaced by Todd Weiner. Weiner would leave with an injury and was replaced by Quinn Ojinnaka. Michael Turner rushed for 58 yards on 17 carries. The Eagles took the lead with quarterback Donovan McNabb getting a 3-yard TD run, along with kicker David Akers getting a 36-yard field goal. McNabb turned from prolific passer to game-manager as the afternoon progressed, finding openings in the Falcons zone defense for short to medium gains and handing the ball off to Westbrook, the All-Pro rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries in the first half and finished with 22 carries for 167 yards. He also had six catches for 42 yards, one of six Eagles receivers with two or more catches. The Falcons spent much of the first half keeping McNabb and the Eagles high-flying offense on the ground. Atlanta didn't allow a first-quarter point for the fifth time this season and picked up two sacks, a forced fumble and a turnover in the first 30 minutes  In the third quarter, the Falcons continued to trail as RB Brian Westbrook got a 16-yard TD run.  In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia increased its lead with Akers nailing an 18-yard field goal.Brian Finneran tied his season-high in receptions (three) and contributed with two catches on third down to convert a new set a downs for the Falcons on both occasions in the first half. Jerious Norwood posted his second-highest receiving total when he caught five passes for 55 yards, he set his career-high of 57 yards against the Saints last season Atlanta tried to rally as Ryan hooked up with White again on an 8-yard TD pass, but the Eagles flew away as Westbrook got a 39-yard TD run. A late goal-line stand held the Eagles to a field goal and kept it a two-possession game with 7:57 remaining. Ryan led a no-huddle offense into the red zone on the next series and found White with a second touchdown with less than four minutes to play. Trailing 20-14, the Falcons defense stepped up with a key three-and-out but an odd turn of events kept the Birds offense from getting a shot at the win. Return man Adam Jennings decided at the last second not to field the punt after the Eagles' three-and-out drive. Officials ruled Jennings touched the ball and the muffed punt was recovered by the Eagles. The Falcons did not have a timeout left and, by rule, could not challenge the play. Replays in the press box showed Jennings did not touch the ball. Three plays later Westbrook rushed over the left side for a 39-yard, game-clinching  touchdown. Defensive end Jamaal Anderson posted his second sack of the season when he dropped Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb for a six-yard loss in the first quarter, the sack stalled an Eagles drive, forcing a punt. Anderson has now totaled one sack in two consecutive games. Rookie Curtis Lofton earned his first career sack when he dropped McNabb for an eight-yard loss in the second quarter while forcing a fumble. The ball was recovered by defensive end Chauncey Davis."It never felt like we were out of the game, even when we didn't get that touchdown when we needed it, it still felt like we stopped them to get a chance to put some more points on the board and that's what we did", defensive end John Abraham said. "Like I said, it's part of the game and everybody played well, it was a tough fought game. I think everybody got a lot of bumps and bruises from the game, but it definitely was a good game."With the loss, the Falcons fell to 4-3.
Who threw the first touchdown pass of the game?
Matt Ryan