Eagles Go a Long Way, but Quickly : A 99-Yard Pass Play Beats the Falcons in Overtime, 23-17

The Philadelphia Eagles had a lot of room to work with. They took it all.

Ron Jaworski and Mike Quick hooked up on a 99-yard touchdown pass play to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 23-17 victory Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons after 1:49 of overtime.

“At the end, we got the big play but, at the time, we didn’t expect it to be that big,” Quick said of the play that tied an NFL record for the longest pass play. “We were just looking for something to get us out of the hole and get some breathing room.

“I knew if the guy on the outside didn’t get me, I had a chance to go all the way. I felt a hand coming, but it wasn’t enough to slow me up and I was off to the races after that.”

Atlanta punter Rick Donnelly put the Eagles in the hole when his 62-yard kick went out of bounds at the one after the Falcons failed to move on the first possession of overtime.

“I was kind of surprised it was that close to the goal line,” said Jaworski, who completed 11 of 30 passes for 258 yards. “On the first play, I realized that when I lined up, my whole body was in the end zone.

“On the second play, I saw they were in zone coverage. It’s strictly a timing play. I take a five-step drop and Mike’s supposed to catch it 20 to 22 yards away. I couldn’t really see it as a long gainer. Mike ran the route, I got the ball in there and he split the seam.”

Jaworski threw an incomplete pass to Kenny Jackson on first down before finding Quick on second down.

Quick caught the ball between cornerback Bobby Butler and safety Scott Case.

“I read him (Quick) all the way,” Case said. “Bobby was right in front of him and I was behind. He got there just an instant before I did. I was going to make the big play, intercept it, run it in and we go in.”

Philadelphia (5-5) took a 17-0 lead on touchdown runs of 8 yards by Earnest Jackson and 1 yard by Jaworski and a 30-yard field goal by Paul McFadden.

Atlanta (1-9) scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter to force the overtime on an 18-yard pass from David Archer to Joe Washington, a 1-yard run by Gerald Riggs and a 27-yard field goal by Mick Luckhurst.

The Falcons missed a chance to win the game in regulation when Luckhurst’s 42-yard field goal was wide to the left with five seconds left.

Riggs rushed for 129 yards, giving him 1,015 for the season.