CLEVELAND - Michael Vick believes the Atlanta Falcons proved plenty of people wrong this season.
Making their first playoff appearance in four years and just the seventh in franchise history, the Falcons took the final NFC wild-card spot Sunday despite losing 24-16 to the Cleveland Browns.
New Orleans' 10-6 loss to Carolina put Atlanta, which has lost three of four after going unbeaten for eight straight weeks, in the postseason.
The Falcons (9-6-1) will play at NFC North champion Green Bay (12-4) Saturday at 8 p.m. Atlanta lost 37-34 in overtime in its season opener at Lambeau Field.
"If you read all the preseason articles being written, people was predicting us to be 5-11, 6-10, like there's no way this team is going to make the playoffs," Vick said. "There's no way this young quarterback will be back there making plays. He won't be able to do enough because he doesn't have the experience."
Vick and his teammates must correct mistakes that have caused the offense to score only two touchdowns in its last 10 trips to the red zone.
Atlanta went 1-for-6 inside the Browns 19-yard line. After Vick and Brian Finneran hooked up on a 15-yard touchdown that cut Cleveland's lead to 10-7 in the second quarter, Jay Feely missed a 28-yard field goal attempt wide left with 6 seconds to go before halftime.
The Falcons thought they had scored on the previous play, but Vick's low 11-yard attempt to tight end Alge Crumpler was ruled incomplete, giving Atlanta coach Dan Reeves only four favorable rulings in the last 26 times a call has been challenged.
"Instant replay - I don't think it works," Crumpler said. "Officials - they make calls, and they don't want to be wrong. As far as I'm concerned, that doesn't mean anything."
Feely hit his final three field-goal attempts, all coming in the third quarter, before the Falcons crumbled at the end. Vick connected with Quentin McCord for a 12-yarder that left Atlanta facing first-and-goal at the 4. After Warrick Dunn gained 3 yards, Vick overthrew tight end Alge Crumpler in the left corner of the end zone.
"You've got to be in my shoes," Vick said. "You've got to be in my position. Y'all guys got to see what I see. It was a tough throw. I wasn't going to put it in there and give them a chance to intercept it. I'd rather just throw the ball away. He could've caught the ball if I would've made a better throw, but I didn't."
The next two plays, both runs that sent Dunn up the middle, resulted in no gain.
The 22-year-old Vick, last year's No. 1 overall pick, has lost some of his magic down the stretch. Talk of an MVP award began to fade when the Falcons were hammered 34-10 at Tampa Bay three weeks ago.
Vick, who completed 17 of 40 passes for 240 yards, threw an inconsequential interception late in the first quarter, but the pick gave him six in the last five games against seven touchdowns.
He had just two interceptions in his first 131 attempts, a span of nine games. In the last five games, Vick has had a quarterback rating of 60.4 or worse.
Entering this week, Atlanta had lost six of Vick's previous eight fumbles.
"I played well. I think I made some plays and did everything I could do. If I had to give myself a grade, I'd give myself a B, but it's not about me and the way I play. It's about the team overall."
Tuesday
April 1st, 2025
4:16AM
