The game was delayed by weather, and the players on both teams seemed awfully rusty, but thanks to a late touchdown by Jay Ajayi, the Eagles came out on top.
PHILADELPHIA — As the N.F.L. launched a new season Thursday night, many things were unchanged.
The home fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, among the league’s most vociferous, crammed into every available seat here at Lincoln Financial Field, where they cheered through a pre-game ceremony of fireworks and fight songs. After a layoff of seven months, pro football was unquestionably being welcomed back by a crowd in full throat.
And, just as familiar, almost exactly a year after N.F.L. players’ protests during the national anthem exploded into a polarizing political debate, thousands of eyes once again scanned the sidelines to see if anyone in uniform was kneeling, sitting or gesturing during the playing of the anthem.
But Thursday, every player stood, with the exception of Eagles defensive lineman Michael Bennett, who paced several yards behind the lineup of his teammates and eventually took a seat on the bench near the end of the singing of the anthem by Boyz II Men.
Soon after, the 2018 N.F.L. season resumed in every corporeal way, with league officials likely breathing a sigh of relief. The reprieve lasts until Sunday when 13 more games are scheduled.
On the field, the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles rallied to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 18-12, on an 11-yard touchdown dash by the running back Jay Ajayi with two minutes and 19 seconds remaining in the game.
The Falcons, who lost at Philadelphia in last season’s playoffs, had led for most of the final quarter. A last possession by Atlanta in the final minutes Thursday stalled at the Eagles’ 5-yard line, with Julio Jones forced out of bounds on a last-second play that could have secured the win.
Both teams stumbled through an inelegant, touchdown-less first half, but in the third quarter, the Eagles took their first lead of the game, 10-6, on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ajayi. The highlight of the 11-play possession was a trick play that had wide receiver Nelson Agholor throwing a 15-yard pass to Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles.
The play was almost a repeat of a pivotal touchdown Foles scored on a pass from a different teammate, Trey Burton, in last season’s Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.
The teams traded turnovers with each quarterback being intercepted early in the fourth quarter but the Falcons made the most of their theft of Foles.
After Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 18 yards to Jones, Tevin Coleman dashed nine yards for a touchdown. The Falcons’ place-kicker Matt Bryant missed the extra point and Atlanta was up, 12-10.
With a little less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Eagles took over near midfield. A 9-yard, third-down pass to Darren Sproles picked up one first down. A 21-yard rush on a nifty trap play by Corey Clement moved the Eagles inside the Falcons’ 15-yard line, setting up Ajayi’s winning score. Ajayi also ran in a 2-point extra attempt after his touchdown.
Thursday’s game was delayed by 45 minutes because of a lightning storm in the area. About 30 minutes before the scheduled kickoff, both teams interrupted their warm-up drills and returned to their locker rooms. Stadium officials requested that fans leave the grandstands and wait in the facility’s protected concourses. A heavy rain fell with lightning visible in the area although by there was no precipitation by the opening kickoff.
The Falcons’ offense was the first on the field and marched 64 yards to the Eagles 1-yard line. During the drive, Atlanta’s Jones, who was held out of the preseason games and looked fresh and fleet, picked up 11 yards on a reverse and also caught a 33-yard pass deep in Philadelphia territory.
But the potent Atlanta offense stalled on the doorstep of the Eagles end zone, failing to advance the football in three tries — two runs and a pass — from the 1-yard line, all of which came with Jones on the sideline.
In the Falcons’ divisional round playoff loss last season in Philadelphia, their final possession of the game also ended with a goal-line stand by the home team. It was also the same end zone at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Falcons rallied to take the lead on their second possession on a 21-yard field goal by Matt Bryant, a score Philadelphia matched in the second quarter with a 26-yard Jake Elliott field goal. A 52-yard Bryant field goal with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first half gave Atlanta a 6-3 lead at intermission.
