Giants knew early that Michael Vick was hurting
PHILADELPHIA -- It didn't take long for the Giants to realize that Michael Vick would not be long for this contest.
"After he scrambled out one time and he grabbed his hamstring, I knew it was going to be a different game," defensive tackle Linval Joseph said.
For the second time this year, Vick started a game against the Giants but was unable to make it to halftime. Earlier this month his replacement, Nick Foles, led the Eagles to a comeback win. Yesterday, though, with Vick clearly limited from the beginning, he handed the reins to rookie Matt Barkley while Foles was inactive from a concussion.
"When he did try to scramble and he ran out, you could tell he was in pain a little bit how he was walking back to the huddle," defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. "He seemed to grab at the hamstring. At that point we knew for sure there was no way he was going to be doing the things that he's used to doing in that offense."
Vick looked like he had no intention of running on the opening drive when he stayed in the pocket and was intercepted by Antrel Rolle. On the next series he was sacked by the safety, again unwilling to run. On the third possession he scrambled to the sideline for a gain of 1 yard and seemed to limp back to the huddle.
"As soon as it happened, I knew exactly what that feeling was and how my body would react to it," said Vick, who added that he felt the muscle in the back of his leg pop.
"I wanted to keep going, and I was going to stay out there, but Coach [Chip Kelly] didn't want to put the team in a bad situation and he didn't want to put me in a bad situation. It was hurting."Barkley managed to drive the Eagles 78 yards to the Giants' 2, but he fumbled when he was sacked by Terrell Thomas. Barkley wound up completing 17 of 26 passes for 158 yards with one late interception. More significantly, he didn't carry the ball as a runner once.
