*Bumped*

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick entered last night’s Falcons vs Eagles game with his head held high. His spirits uplifted by the smattering of cheers from his family members in the stands. But Vick left the game in the 3rd quarter holding his head and spitting up blood.

The Atlanta Falcons defeated their former star quarterback 35-31 in a hard fought game that ended with a head ringing technical knockout for Vick.

It was an ugly win for sure, with a few bright moments provided by star tight end Tony Gonzalez who caught two dazzling touchdowns.

But the real hero of last night’s much-hyped matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Mike Vick was Eagles’ defensive tackle Todd Herremans who knocked Vick out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter.

The Eagles had a 10 point cushion when Vick headed to the locker room to get his head examined. He pointed to the scoreboard as the boos rained down on him from the end zone bleachers.

But the lead wouldn’t last long with Vick out of the game and Eagles quarterback Mike Kafka subbing for him.

Prior to getting face checked by his own player, the Falcons defense gave Vick fits. The ex-con fumbled the ball twice and threw for an interception as the Falcons’ choppy defense swarmed him in the pocket.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who had an even worse game than Vick, brought the Falcons close with a TD pass in the fourth quarter. Then Michael Turner galloped up the sideline for 61 yards to set up his scoring run that gave the Falcons the lead with 4:48 remaining on the clock.

That’s when it happened. That’s when the roaring Falcons faithful knew for sure that God was not only a dog lover but a Dirty Birds fan too:

Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin dropped a fourth-down pass that would have given the Eagles a first down at the Falcons’ 15, and now both teams are 1-1.

Photos: AP