| Atlanta Falcons Defeat Minnesota Vikings 
10-03-2005, 05:44 PM
ATLANTA (AP) - Michael Vick felt good enough to go back in the game.
No need. In about a quarter and a half, he did enough to lead the Atlanta Falcons past the hapless Minnesota Vikings.
Vick went down with a sprained right knee Sunday, turning it over to backup Matt Schaub and the Falcons' defence to finish off a 30-10 rout of the Vikings.
"It feels fine. I just tweaked it a little bit," Vick said. "We had a good cushion, so it made sense to keep me on the sideline."
Warrick Dunn rushed for 126 yards, including his 50th career touchdown on a 37-yard run, to lead a 285-yard performance on the ground. Vick ran for 58 yards and threw a touchdown pass before getting hurt. The Falcons' defence made things miserable for Daunte Culpepper, who was sacked nine times, intercepted twice and lost a fumble.
The Minnesota quarterback has gone down 16 times the last two weeks and looked especially gun-shy on his fumble. Rod Coleman brushed Culpepper's hip as he drew back to throw, the ball fell out of his hand and Patrick Kerney recovered.
"I took some good shots," Culpepper said. "It's definitely disappointing. There's a lot of talent on this football team."
It hasn't showed up so far. The Vikings (1-3) were beaten at home by Tampa Bay and have been outscored 67-18 in two road losses.
Coleman, Brady Smith and Demorrio Williams had two sacks apiece for the Falcons (3-1), who had their most sacks since a franchise-record 10 against New Orleans in 1997.
"To get nine sacks and with our crowd behind us like they were, that would fluster any offensive line in the league," said Keith Brooking, who had nine tackles, a sack and an interception.
Coleman has four sacks the last two games, quite a showing for an interior linemen who is frequently double-teamed. He credited the secondary for giving the linemen plenty of time to get to Culpepper.
"He just didn't have anybody to throw to because of the coverage," Coleman said.
Vick guided the Falcons to a 14-0 lead on their first two possessions.
He broke off runs of 23 and 24 yards before throwing a five-yard touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler. On the scoring play, Vick hid the ball on his left hip for a couple of seconds, fooling the defence and allowing his tight end to get open.
Then, Vick directed a tedious 14-play drive capped by T.J. Duckett's one-yard plunge.
On the first play of Atlanta's next possession, Vick rolled right to throw and was hit hard by Minnesota's Erasmus James just after delivering an incomplete pass. The 266-pound James fell on top of the quarterback as they tumbled to the turf. Vick grabbed at his shin and remained down for several minutes, the Georgia Dome fans gasping when they realized who was injured.
Finally, the two-time Pro Bowler climbed to his feet and walked slowly off the field to a standing ovation. The team said he had a strained medial collateral ligament and wouldn't return, a decision made easier with Atlanta in complete control over the Vikings (1-3). |
kismet Join Date: Sep 2005 Age: 27
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