NFL: Vick struggles, still leads Eagles past Browns 17-16

Cleveland • Even after his heroics saved Philadelphia from embarrassment, Michael Vick still had escape on his mind.

"Oh, man," the quarterback said. "I gotta get out of Cleveland."

The Eagles hardly soared but flew away with a win anyway.

Overcoming four interceptions — and nearly a fifth — by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clay Harbor with 1:18 left, Vick rallied the penalty-prone Eagles to a nerve-racking, 17-16 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

With his team trailing 16-10, Vick marched them 91 yards for the go-ahead score on his career-high 56th pass. Before that, the superstar played poorly and showed major rustiness after getting just 12 snaps during the preseason because of injuries.

But when it mattered most, Vick came through, and the Eagles, who hurt themselves with five turnovers and 12 penalties, prevailed.

"I wasn't going to disappoint my coaches and I wasn't going to disappoint my teammates," Vick said. "Whatever it took, I was going to get it done."

Vick went 29-for-56 for 317 yards and threw two TDs, his first to Jeremy Maclin for 18 yards in the final minute of the first half. But besides those two passes, there were moments when Vick forced passes and looked more like a rookie than a four-time Pro Bowler.

Browns rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden threw four interceptions, the last to Kurt Coleman with 1:05 remaining, as Cleveland fell to 1-13 in season openers since 1999.

LeSean McCoy rushed for 110 yards for Philadelphia, which trailed 16-10 in the fourth after Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson returned Vick's fourth pick 27 yards for a touchdown. But even though Cleveland had the lead, there was still plenty of time for Vick. Eagles 17, Browns 16

Philadelphia 0 10 0 7 — 17

Cleveland 3 0 3 10 — 16

First Quarter

Cle • FG Dawson 43, 9:12.

Second Quarter

Phi • FG Henery 42, 14:58.

Phi • Maclin 18 pass from Vick (Henery kick), :17.

Third Quarter

Cle • FG Dawson 42, 4:57.

Fourth Quarter

Cle • FG Dawson 22, 14:15.

Cle • D.Jackson 27 interception return (Dawson kick), 13:59.

Phi • Harbor 4 pass from Vick (Henery kick), 1:18.

Attendance • 68,693.

Phi Cle

First downs 25 12

Total Net Yards 456 210

Rushes-yards 30-150 22-99

Passing 306 111

Punt Returns 1-6 6-78

Kickoff Returns 3-64 4-98

Interceptions Ret. 4-13 4-88

Comp-Att-Int 29-56-4 12-35-4

Sacked-Yards Lost 2-11 2-7

Punts 6-55.0 7-44.0

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-0

Penalties-yards 12-110 3-35

Time of Possession 35:58 24:02

Individual Statistics

Rushing • Philadelphia, McCoy 20-110, Vick 7-32, Jackson 1-5, Brown 2-3. Cleveland, Richardson 19-39, Benjamin 1-35, Weeden 2-25.

Passing • Philadelphia, Vick 29-56-4-317. Cleveland, Weeden 12-35-4-118.

Receiving • Philadelphia, Maclin 7-96, McCoy 6-26, Jackson 4-77, Celek 4-65, Avant 4-27, Harbor 3-16, D.Johnson 1-10. Cleveland, Massaquoi 3-41, Gordon 2-32, B.Jackson 2-20, Watson 2-9, Benjamin 1-12, Richardson 1-5, Smith 1-(minus 1).

Missed Field Goals • Philadelphia, Henery 45 (WL).