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December 8, 2003
Interception return sparks Falcons by Panthers in OT
By Joe Menzer | JOURNAL REPORTER
By the time the Atlanta Falcons kicked off to the Carolina Panthers last night in front of a a national-television audience, the Panthers knew that the NFC South title was within their grasp.
But Michael Vick stood in the way.
And in the end so did backup cornerback Kevin Mathis, who intercepted a pass by quarterback Jake Delhomme of the Panthers in overtime and returned it 32 yards for the winning touchdown.
The interception return gave the Falcons a 20-14 victory and put the Panthers' plans for a celebration on hold for at least another week.
Actually, to say that Vick stood in the Panthers path to a division title isn't quite accurate. Vick did very little standing. Making his his first start of the season after suffering a broken leg his leg in the preseason, Vick proved that he is fully healed and as elusive as ever. He rushed for 141 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries to help the Falcons to their third victory in 13 games.
It was the third-highest rushing total for a quarterback in NFL history. In 12 previous games, the Panthers had allowed opposing quarterbacks to rush for a combined total of 112 yards on 30 carries.
With the loss, their third in a row, the Panthers fell to 8-5 with three games left in the regular season - at Arizona on Sunday, at home against Detroit and at the New York Giants. None of the teams remaining have a winning record, but the Falcons showed last night that records can be misleading.
"There was a lot of excitement in our locker room afterward," Coach Dan Reeves of the Falcons said. "That was a big play by Kevin to cut in front there and get the interception and then return it for a touchdown.
"But I thought for Mike (Vick) making his first start after returning from an injury, it was unbelieveable what he could do. He just gives you a dimension that's really difficult for other teams to stop. He's got a long ways to go as far as throwing a football, but what he did running, it was something really special."
Coach John Fox of the Panthers said: "It was a tough loss. They came out fired up and ready to play. Obviously Michael Vick is a big part of that football team. I thought for the most part we matched their intensity, but we turned the ball over three times."
Tampa Bay's win over New Orleans earlier yesterday gave the Panthers a chance at their first division title and first NFC playoff berth in seven years. Not since 1996, when the Panthers advanced to the NFC championship game, have such prizes been within their grasp.
And never before have such prizes been within their grasp during the first week of December.
"Anytime you lose, it's frustrating - whether you're clinching (a division title) or not clinching," Fox said. "But there will be another opportunity for us next week."
Vick started slowly, missing on five straight passes after completing three of his first five. But soon enough he started warming up - occasionally with his arm but mostly with his legs.
His best run of the game came in the fourth quarter when he reversed field and darted 43 yards to the Carolina 13-yard line, setting up his 1-yard touchdown run five plays later. The extra point tied the score at 14 with 8:17 remaining. Vick was driving the Falcons again at the end of regulation, but he was intercepted on a pass intended for tight end Alge Crumpler. Free safety Deon Grant picked off the ball at the Carolina 2-yard line, setting up the overtime.
The Panthers won the coin toss and got the ball first in overtime, but this time the Falcons didn't need Vick's magic to get into the end zone. With the Panthers facing third-and-3 from their 29-yard line, Delhomme dropped back to pass and threw the ball right into the arms of Mathis, who promptly ran the other way and dived into the left corner of the end zone as Delhomme knocked him out of bounds.
Officials reviewed the play to make certain it was a touchdown, but subsequently ruled that Mathis did break the plane of the goal line before falling out of bounds.
It was a great play on a night when most of those belonged to Vick.
One play on second-and-5 from the Carolina 34-yard line in the second quarter was vintage Vick. He took the snap and almost immediately encountered Julius Peppers, Al Wallace and Kris Jenkins in the backfield. But Vick eluded them by quickly changing direction, then beat defensive tackle Brentson Buckner to the outside corner in front of the Panthers' bench.
Essentially, Vick turned what seemed to be a sure negative play for the Falcons into a 14-yard gain and a first down. But kicker Jay Feely missed wide left on a 36-yard field-goal try four plays later.
The Falcons scored first on a 9-yard touchdown run by T.J. Duckett in the second quarter, capping an 11-play, 67-yard drive fueled mostly by Vick's creativeness and some untimely penalties on the Panthers.
But the Panthers came back two possessions later to score a touchdown, using the pass instead of the run to march downfield. During one stretch in the first half, 12 of 15 plays run by the Panthers were passes.
The last of those was a 16-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to tight end Jermaine Wiggins, tying the game at 7 with 3:18 left in the first half.
Vick was far from perfect, often overthrowing open receivers and having several passes batted down by defensive linemen. But twice in the first half, Vick at least drove the Falcons into field-goal range, only to have Feely miss two short attempts.
Carolina's John Kasay, who missed three field-goal tries and an extra-point kick during Carolina's 25-16 loss to Philadelphia last weekend, did not attempt a field goal and made his only two extra-point attempts.
The Panthers broke the 7-7 tie in the third quarter after cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who started in the place of the injured Terry Cousin, forced a fumble by Duckett and recovered the loose ball at the Atlanta 23.
It took the Panthers seven plays to cover the 23 yards to the end zone, including five once they were inside the 5-yard line. But they were aided by a holding penalty on cornerback Allen Rossum on third-and-goal from the 5. That gave the Panthers a first down and up to four more cracks at the end zone. They needed three of them before running back Stephen Davis scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
• Joe Menzer can be reached at jmenzer@wsjournal.com