PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matt Ryan to Julio Jones failed in Philly again.

Jay Ajayi had a pair of touchdown runs Jakub Voracek Jersey Kids , Nick Foles caught another pass to jump-start a sputtering offense and the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles needed another defensive stand to open the NFL season with an 18-12 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.

A sloppy, mistake-filled game that featured 26 penalties came down to Ryan throwing an incomplete pass to Jones in the left corner of the end zone on the final play from Philadelphia’s 5.

Jones couldn’t come down with Ryan’s pass from the 2 in the right corner of the end zone in Atlanta’s 15-10 loss in the divisional round in January.

“It was deja vu,” said cornerback Ronald Darby, who covered Jones on the last play this time around instead of Jalen Mills. “Jones is one of the best but we got the stop.”

A weather delay pushed kickoff back 45 minutes, forcing fans to wait for the unveiling of the “world champions” banner following the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory. Wearing his gold Hall of Fame jacket, former safety Brian Dawkins riled up the sellout crowd with owner Jeffrey Lurie by his side and led a chorus of “Fly Eagles Fly.”

The defense fed off that energy with a strong goal-line stand on the opening series, stopping the Falcons three times at the 1.

“We put a big emphasis on red zone,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “We trust our matchups and do we do our job.”

They did it again at the end.

After Ajayi’s 11-yard TD run and 2-point conversion gave the Eagles a lead with 2:25 left, Ryan led the Falcons down the field. He completed a 36-yard pass to Jones and connected with him again for 18 yards on third-and-17.

The Falcons had a first down at the 10 but Ryan threw four straight incomplete passes. A penalty on Jordan Hicks gave them one more chance and the Eagles held again.

“That’s a great defense and a great team,” Jones said. “You aren’t going to score at will on that team. They won a Super Bowl for a reason, they have the same guys on defense.”

Needing a spark on offense, Eagles coach Doug Pederson resorted to the “Philly Special” play that helped the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 in the Super Bowl. This time, Foles caught a 15-yard pass from Nelson Agholor to extend a drive that ended with Ajayi scoring a go-ahead 1-yard TD run in the third quarter.

“It was in our third-down men,” Pederson said.

Foles Mario Lemieux Jersey , the Super Bowl MVP still filling in for Carson Wentz, played it safe and the offense was conservative until Pederson turned to his favorite play on third-and-5 midway through the third quarter. Corey Clement took a toss and flipped to Agholor, who threw it to Foles running open down the right side for a gain to the Falcons 26.

Foles hit Zach Ertz for 18 yards on third-and-6 and Ajayi ran in a few plays later to put Philadelphia up 10-6.

“No panic, we’re resilient,” Pederson said.

Against New England, tight end Trey Burton took a flip from Clement on a reverse and threw a 1-yard TD pass to Foles to give the Eagles a 10-point halftime lead.

Philadelphia’s defense overcame a pair of blunders to temporarily preserve the lead. Tre Sullivan kicked a loose ball on a punt and the Falcons recovered the fumble at the Eagles 32. A sack by Fletcher Cox on third down was negated by Derek Barnett’s offside penalty to keep the drive going. But Rasul Douglas intercepted Ryan’s pass at the 4. Jones said he lost the ball in the lights.

Deion Jones then intercepted Foles’ pass that bounced out of Dallas Goedert’s hands and returned it 20 yards to Philadelphia’s 27, setting up Tevin Coleman’s 9-yard TD run that gave the Falcons a 12-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Matt Bryant hit the right post on the extra point.

On a hot, muggy night, it looked more like an August preseason game than a playoff rematch. Both teams looked rusty after many starters didn’t play much in preseason. It didn’t compare to the action in Kansas City’s 42-27 victory at New England in the 2017 NFL opener.

Bryant kicked field goals of 52 and 21 yards in the first quarter.

ANTHEM

Jenkins and defensive end Michael Bennett were on the sideline when the national anthem was played and made no overt demonstrations while it was played. Jenkins raised his fist during “The Star-Spangled Banner” last year and in the first preseason game as one of the most high-profile NFL players protesting racial inequality and other social injustices. He stayed in the tunnel for the last three weeks. Bennett mostly stayed off the field in the preseason. He wandered behind teammates near the bench and adjusted his equipment this time.

INJURIES

Falcons: S Keanu Neal left the game with a knee injury in the first half. … LS Josh Harris had his streak of 103 consecutive games played end because of a hip injury.

Eagles: WR Mack Hollins was placed on injured reserve hours before the game because of a groin injury.

UP NEXT

Falcons: Host the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 16.

Eagles: Visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 16.

Sean McVay and Jon Gruden both knew they've got to coach against each other in a real game just 23 days after the Rams' preseason visit from the Raiders.

So while the Raiders' return to the Coliseum was a thrill for their faithful Southern California fan base, the Rams' young coach and his veteran role model both made sure the action on the field was as meaningless as possible.

Rookie John Kelly rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown, and the Rams welcomed the Raiders back to LA with a 19-15 preseason victory over Oakland on Saturday.

Chris Warren rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders in their return to the venerable stadium that was their home for 13 seasons during their largely successful tenure in Los Angeles. Their passionate local following turned out in force, filling the 95-year-old arena with black jerseys and loud cheers.

"It was awesome being back here," Gruden said. "If you understand the Raiders, they have had a history here Frans Nielsen Jersey Kids , a championship history here. There are still a lot of fans that remember those teams, and rightfully so."

But both teams rested nearly all of their presumptive starters and used no significant parts of their playbook, thanks in part to a weird NFL scheduling decision that forced these teams to play an exhibition three weeks before they meet in their Monday night regular-season opener in Oakland.

"I've never been in a preseason game like this," Gruden said. "This is tough, in our first training camp as a football team, to have our second (preseason game) against a team we open up with.

"I don't know in the history of the NFL if that's ever happened. I'm not going to sit up here and cry about it, because it's the same for them as it is us. But we didn't want to play our starters, and we didn't want them to hear our audibles and hand signals. I don't think they wanted us to get a feel for them either, so it was a strange ballgame."

Although both coaches revealed as little about their teams as possible, McVay still relished his first chance to face Gruden, who employed McVay as a 22-year-old assistant wide receivers coach on his final staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. McVay frequently cites Gruden and his brother, Jay, as major influences on his coaching style and mentality.

"Everybody knows what a huge amount of respect I have for Jon, and how great he's been to me over the course of my coaching career Shane Doan Jersey ," McVay said. "(But) they were pretty regulated. Very similar in terms of the approach by both teams. Very vanilla."

The Rams' backups dominated the Raiders' reserves in the first half, taking a 13-0 lead while holding Oakland to 58 yards and one first down. Oakland trailed 16-0 before mounting a rally, but the Raiders failed on their second 2-point conversion attempt of the day following Griff Whalen's 10-yard TD catch with 9:52 to play.

"I was going to do everything humanly possible to avoid overtime today, yes," Gruden said.

Sam Ficken then hit his second field goal for the Rams with 5:46 left.

"It's definitely different, because it's not their starters out there, and you want to save stuff for later," said Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam, one of the few likely regular-season starters who played significant snaps. "You still want to do your best, though."

The Raiders' offense didn't record its second first down of the day until late in the third quarter, but Warren capped the 75-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. The undrafted free-agent running back from Texas had 86 yards in his preseason debut against Detroit.

"It's about showing I can play in the league and make the most of my opportunities," Warren said. "I didn't expect to play as much as I did. It was nice to get some good pops in. I was able to get some yards after contact."

HOMECOMING GAME

Al Davis moved the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, and their home crowds at the Coliseum quickly developed a reputation for rowdiness and occasional violence. But the Raiders also won the hearts of a generation of Los Angeles football fans with their swagger and success, including a Super Bowl title in their second season in town.

The Rams spent the 1980s in Anaheim Patrick Marleau Jersey , further opening the way for the Raiders to become Generation X's favorite team in LA.

Both franchises moved after the 1994 season, and the Rams returned home two years ago. The Raiders missed out on the chance to return to LA when the Chargers made their move last year, but the Raiders will be only about 260 miles from Los Angeles when they move to Las Vegas in 2020, making it even easier for LA's silver-and-black fans to back their team.

RAIDERS WOES

Warren was the clearest standout on a discouraging day for Oakland's offense. Gruden was blunt, calling it "flat-out embarrassing, honestly."

E.J. Manuel went 10 for 16 for 89 yards and a touchdown, but also fumbled for the second straight week. The Raiders' backup offensive line struggled to keep the Rams' pressure off Manuel and Connor Cook, who went 6 for 12.

MANNION IMPROVES

Rams backup QB Sean Mannion rebounded from a rocky preseason debut last week in Baltimore, going 10 of 16 for 84 yards while completing passes to eight receivers. Third-stringer Brandon Allen wasn't as sharp, going 6 for 11 and throwing a terrible interception in the fourth quarter to put Oakland in position for its second TD.

INJURIES

Raiders: K Eddie Pineiro didn't play because of a groin injury. ... CB Shareece Wright injured his hamstring during the game.

Rams: RB Justin Davis didn't play because of a hamstring injury, preventing him from competing with Kelly and Malcolm Brown for the backup job.

ANTHEM UPDATE

There were no apparent protests during the national anthem.

UP NEXT

Raiders: Host the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 24.

Rams: Host the Houston Texans on Aug. 25.

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