Michael Vick: Top 5 NFL moments
By John Buhler
4. Vick burns The Greatest Show on Turf on his turf
Vick won two playoff games as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. The second of the pair came at home against one of the best offensive-minded football teams of its time in the St. Louis Rams.
From 1999 to 2004, the Rams were The Greatest Show on Turf. The Mike Martz offense helped usher in the modern passing game in the NFL. Running backs could now be expected to catch balls out of the backfield. Though the Rams weren’t quite Super Bowl caliber at the time with Marc Bulger under center, it was still a big deal to beat St. Louis on the gridiron.
Keep in mind that the Falcons and Rams were division rivals up until 2002’s realignment back in the old NFC West with the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers. Atlanta faced a lot of pressure to beat St. Louis at home. Vick took it upon himself that Atlanta would get to its second-ever NFC Championship Game.
Atlanta straight up slugged the Rams in a high-paced blowout in the NFC Divisional Round, 47-17. Vick would complete 75 percent of his passes (12-16) for 82 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 125.5. Of course, Vick would make some plays with his legs in that game, as he rushed for 119 yards on eight carries, then a playoff record. He even had a catch for two yards in that NFC playoff game!
What this win did for the Falcons was legitimize Atlanta’s Super Bowl candidacy. It was short-lived, as Philadelphia was a menace to Atlanta and Vick would go to prison three years later. While Atlanta would recover in the wake of Vick’s sentence, the Rams have yet to go back to the NFC Playoffs since getting routed by the Falcons in the Georgia Dome.