Michael Vick’s performance on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 15 was awe-inspiring. For three quarters, Vick resembled that of a character from a video game because it appeared humanly impossible to accomplish what he did on the football field. Vick passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns, and he rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns.
He became the first player in NFL history to pass for 300 yards, rush for over 50 yards, pass for four touchdowns, and rush for two touchdowns in a single game.
Vick led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 59-28 victory in what was the greatest NFL performance by a quarterback in a regular season game. There have been quarterbacks who have won games in the last two minutes; passed for over 400 yards in a game; and quarterbacks who have thrown seven touchdowns. But there has never been a quarterback who dominated a game with his arm and legs the way Vick did in Monday’s game. It was on par with Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game against the New York Knicks in 1962; Muhammad Ali’s victory against Joe Frazier in 1975; and Willie Mays’ four home runs in a single game 1961.
The most intriguing factor in Vick’s performance was that he has returned to amazing form after missing three full NFL seasons while serving a prison sentence for dogfighting. Many sports critics believed that Vick had missed his most productive years as a pro and would be forced to play wide receiver or kick returner.
However, Vick has proven that he has matured at the quarterback position and stands alone as the best player in the NFL.
–amir shaw
