In his second consecutive nationally televised game, Michael Vick has now officially reintroduced himself to the NFL. Only this time, the dynamic quarterback is arguably, and easily so, better than ever. On Monday night, Vick threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns while completing 71 percent of his passes. He added 80 yards rushing and two scores on the ground. In total, Vick compiled 413 yards of offense and six touchdowns, a historic performance in the nation's capital.
"I'm proud of him, first of all," head coach Andy Reid said postgame. "He did a nice job out there. He led our football team on the offensive side the way you're supposed to lead it. I think the guys rallied around him and really played well collectively; the offensive line, receivers, tight ends and running backs. I thought everyone really played well around him. He was in charge out there."
Offensively speaking, the Eagles literally re-wrote the franchise record book Monday night. The Vick-led offense set the team record for points in a half (45) and total yards in a game (592). They also held the biggest lead of any NFL road team after the first quarter (28). For Vick, who completed his first ten passes of the night, he became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 300 yards, rush for 50 yards, throw for four touchdowns and rush for two more in a single game in the league's history.
Suffice it to say that the team was prepared and eager to take the field.
"I can't tell you they weren't excited to be playing the Washington Redskins," Reid said. "That's an NFC East rival and then it's Monday Night Football, which is awesome. But we've had a lot of energy in that locker room throughout the year. We've got all that youth in there mixed in with the veterans, so it's always a little rambunctious in there."
Similarly to the first quarter in Week 4, before Vick was forced out of the game with a rib cartilage injury, the Redskins chose to take safety LaRon Landry and use him to spy Vick. An understandably difficult task, and one that Landry failed to execute on Monday night. Reid explained that it's tough to spy Vick if you can't match his speed.
"They (spied Vick) a little bit last time," Reid said. "But what that does is normally they're rushing three guys and when that happens it allows you to work those intermediate throws, and I thought Michael did a good job with that.
"It's hard to spy him because he's normally faster than the spy. So if he does take off, he's probably going to make that guy miss."
With one of the all-time great performances by an Eagles team behind them, it's now time to prepare for a first-place showdown against the New York Giants on a short week. Reid said he's already looking ahead to Sunday.
"We've got a short week, so my mind is on New York right now," said Reid. "But I'll enjoy this for at least a night."
That much he certainly deserves.
-- Posted by Josh Goldman, 12:57 a.m., November 16
