Looking Back on Falcons Icon Michael Vick’s Tenure on 45th Birthday

There was a time when Michael Vick was a face of the National Football League. The iconic quarterback was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. Not only was Vick the first African-American quarterback to be taken as the first pick in the draft, but he also changed the league, paving the way for the dual-threat quarterbacks of today like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.

With it being his 45th birthday on Thursday, let’s look back on his tenure with the Falcons. 

During his career in Atlanta (six seasons), Vick recorded 11,505 passing yards, 71 passing touchdowns, 3,859 rushing yards, and 21 rushing touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowler during this time. In 2002, he was sixth in MVP voting. In 2004, he was second in MVP voting, trailing only Peyton Manning. 

In the 2002 season, Vick cemented himself in NFL history, first with a 46-yard game-winning rushing touchdown in overtime against the Vikings. This gave him 173 rushing yards in the game, the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game. This record stood for nearly 20 years, until Justin Fields beat it in 2022. Vick still holds two of the top three single-game rushing performances by a quarterback, with games of 173 and 166 yards, respectively.

That same year marked Vick’s rise as a playoff performer. He led the Falcons to two playoff berths and one NFC Championship game, going .500 (2-2) in the playoffs. Most notably, he made history by becoming the first visiting quarterback to ever win a playoff game in Lambeau Field, and outplayed HOF quarterback Brett Favre in his first-ever playoff game. 

Vick used to hold the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback all time, until Lamar Jackson passed him this last season. However, he still has the second-most all-time, with 6,109 yards. His 1,039 rushing yards in 2006 are the third-most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season ever, trailing only Justin Fields and Lamar Jackson.

Vick's electric first few years in the NFL earned him the honor of being on the Madden cover in 2004. Madden is EA Sports’ popular NFL game, and only the most popular players in the NFL get on the cover of the game. Vick is still the only Atlanta Falcons player to ever be on the cover.

More From Atlanta Falcons on SI