Vick, Reid Can’t Explain Fumbles


Andy Reid and Michael Vick acknowledged that the turnovers were an issue again against the Steelers, but neither seemed overly concerned.

“He didn’t want to come in and fumble the ball,” Reid said. “That’s not what he did. I mean, he was trying to make plays and they hit the ball, they knocked it out.”

Vick fumbled on consecutive possessions in the first half. On first-and-goal from the Steelers’ 3, the Eagles called a quarterback draw, but safety Ryan Clark knocked the ball out.

“I wish I could take the fumble back on the goal line, but you can’t,” Vick said. “Ultimately, I think we put ourselves in a position to win this game and we didn’t win. That’s how it goes in the NFL. You wish you can have some things back. There’s plenty of plays I wish I could have had back throughout the course of this season, but you just can’t get them.

“You’ve got to do a better job of protecting the football. The fumble on the goal line, the guy just put his helmet on a good spot. He put his helmet right on the ball. I tried to protect it. It came out. Can’t do anything about it.”

The second fumble came on a 2nd-and-9 play. Vick scrambled, but Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons knocked the ball out. There was a third one later that Danny Watkins recovered.

Vick now has eight fumbles (five lost) in five games.

WHERE WERE THE TIMEOUTS?

The Eagles only had one timeout left on the final drive. Reid used one to challenge the spot on a DeSean Jackson catch. From TV angles, it looked like a good challenge, but the officials upheld the original call. The second timeout was used on a third down.

“I needed to use the other ones at the time,” Reid said. “The other one was on the third down… third-and-short. It was something that they showed us. It wasn’t any call that we made, missed call of the play or anything.”

NO SACKS ON BEN

The Eagles failed to sack Ben Roethlisberger, but Reid thought the defense got good pressure.

“For the most part, he had pressure,” Reid said. “He had to move in the pocket, make his throws, or he extended plays. He’s very good at that.”

This was the second straight week the Eagles failed to notch a sack.

INJURIES

The only injuries Reid mentioned were Bryce Brown’s shoulder strain and Mychal Kendricks’ ankle sprain. Both players returned.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.