Lions 17, Falcons 10

<p>Michael Vick hasn't figured out the West Coast offense, and he's not sure how long it might take.</p><p>This much is clear: The NFL's most exciting player still faces a major learning curve.</p><p>Vick turned the ball over three times and the Atlanta Falcons took their first loss of the season, falling 17-10 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.</p><p>"Who knows? Maybe in the 10th or 11th year I'll be comfortable with it," Vick said of the new scheme, which relies on timing and short pass routes. "But for now, I've got to keep working, keep working."</p><p>He fumbled three times, losing two of them, and tossed an interception that led to Detroit's go-ahead touchdown.</p><p>"I was caught up looking for receivers and got careless with the ball," Vick said. "The bottom line is I should have the ball tucked away."</p><p>With a chance to force overtime, Vick completed three passes _ including a 24-yarder to Alge Crumpler _ and moved the Falcons from their own 29 to the Detroit 21.</p><p>But Vick was sacked for a 5-yard loss. Then, as he tried to get away from Jared DeVries, the quarterback's arm hit teammate Todd Weiner and the ball popped free. James Hall gobbled it up with 45 seconds left to seal the victory.</p><p>"Those are the situations I love the most," Vick said. "Everybody's watching. The pressure is on. That's when I feel I'm at my best."</p><p>Not this time. The Falcons (4-1) were denied the first 5-0 start in franchise history, along with Jim Mora taking the first loss of his head coaching career. The only other time Atlanta began 4-0 was 1986.</p><p>After going three years without a road victory, the Lions (3-1) have won two in a row away from home.</p><p>"This is a whole different team," cornerback Fernando Bryant said. "We don't care what happened in the past."</p><p>Joey Harrington threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Az-Zahir Hakim on fourth-and-5 for Detroit's first touchdown. After Alex Lewis picked off Vick and returned it 33 yards to the Atlanta 2, Artose Pinner dove over from inside the 1 for a 14-7 halftime lead.</p><p>The Falcons had not been behind all season, and they didn't react well to the situation.</p><p>Vick was sacked six times and faced intense pressure the entire game. Early in the third quarter, with the Falcons at the Detroit 21, Hall knocked the ball loose and Cory Redding fell on it for the Lions.</p><p>Allen Rossum fumbled a punt at the Atlanta 16, setting up Jason Hanson's 23-yard field goal late in the third quarter. The Falcons responded with Jay Feely's 27-yarder, but that was the end of the scoring.</p><p>Vick completed 18 of 29 passes for 196 yards and ran five times for 29 yards. But, for the third week in a row, the opposing defense held him largely in check.</p><p>Pinner, making his first career start in place of the injured Kevin Jones, carried 23 times for 68 yards. Harrington played it safe in the Detroit passing game, completing 16 of 24 attempts for 146 yards.</p><p>Detroit didn't have any turnovers, compared to four for Atlanta.</p><p>The Falcons scored their lone touchdown off a fake punt in the second quarter. Initially, they had kicked the ball away, but offsetting penalties forced them to line up again. This time, Chris Mohr lobbed a 39-yard pass to Brian Finneran.</p><p>Atlanta converted another fourth down the conventional way before Warrick Dunn ran 2 yards for the game's first touchdown.</p><p>Otherwise, Dunn struggled to find running room. His longest gain was for 7 yards; he finished with 44 yards on 18 carries.</p><p>"You have to give them all the credit because they came out and really took control of our running game," Dunn said. "I think everyone gets uncomfortable when you really can't get into a rhythm."</p><p>Notes:@ Detroit coach Steve Mariucci won the first head coaching matchup with Mora, his former defensive coordinator in San Francisco. ... Dunn has six rushing touchdowns his season, two short of his career high. ... The Falcons attempted a fake field goal in the final minute of the first half. Feely caught a pass from Mohr, the holder, but was dropped for a 2-yard loss instead of trying a 30-yard kick. ... Detroit FB Cory Schlesinger went out in the first half with a hamstring injury, and WR Roy Williams hobbled off in the third quarter with a gimpy ankle.</p>

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