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| Vick's athletic ability gives the Eagles hope moving forward. |
Down 28-7 early in the third quarter, Vick found his team on their own 37-yard line with a fresh set of downs after a 14-yard completion. Vick called a play-action pass and when nothing was open down field, he reverted to the tool that has made him one of the most dynamic players in NFL history, his legs.
Vick scrambled all the way to the Buffalo 10-yard line for a 53-yard gain, making him the NFL's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks.
Randall Cunningham, who spent his first eleven seasons under center with Philadelphia, was the previous record holder with 4,928 career rushing yards as a quarterback.
Vick finished the game with only five carries going for 90 yards on the ground, increasing his career total to 4,948. Only 31, the south paw has a chance to make his record untouchable especially after signing a six-year $100 million contract extension this past August.
He most certainly would have accomplished this feat sooner if had not miss two full seasons in the prime of his career due to imprisonment.
The former Virginia Tech Hokie now has now rushed for 318 yards in five games this season.
With his most recent milestone, there is no question Vick is the most prolific rushing quarterback in NFL history as he now holds almost every QB rushing record in NFL history. In a thrilling overtime game against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 1, 2002, a then-member of the Atlanta Falcons, Vick set the single-game rushing record for a quarterback after scampering for 173 yards, including a game-winning 46-yard touchdown run in the extra period.
In what would be his final season as a Falcon, Vick ran for 1,039 yards in 2006, setting the single-season rushing record for a QB. To top it off, his 32 career rushing touchdowns are only 12 behind Otto Graham's QB record of 44.
As much as Vick relishes his individual accolades, football is a team sport and he and his Eagles are struggling mightily. Philadelphia is now 1-4 on the season after a Sunday's deflating 31-24 loss to the surprisingly surging 4-1 Buffalo Bills.
Vick threw a career-high four interceptions, putting his season total at seven, giving him a share of the league lead with a pair of AFC West opponents, San Diego's Phillip Rivers and Denver's Kyle Orton. Vick's 4.1 interception percentage trails only Orton's 4.5 in 2011.
To go along with those seven interceptions, the 10-year veteran has coughed up the football three times, giving him 10 total turnovers on the year which is one more than Vick had all of last season. He also has turned the ball over at least once in each of his last 12 games and thrown 14 interceptions in his last 11.
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| Andy Reid, right in now on the hot seat in Philadelphia. |
With the sluggish start for the once self-proclaimed "Dream Team", many Eagle fans are calling for Reid's head, but it has been the ineffectiveness of his defense and newly promoted defensive coordinator Juan Castillo that have not lived up to expectations.
Castillo had been the offensive line coach since 1998 before taking over the defensive duties this offseason after the firing of Sean McDermott. While the Eagles rank 1st in the NFL averaging 165.6 rushing yards per game their defense has allowed almost the same. The Philly defense ranks 30th in the league allowing their opponents to average 140.2 rushing yards per game against them.
There's just no replacement for a legend like the late Jim Johnson.
After allowing 143 yards on the ground, Philadelphia's defense had a chance at redemption and give Vick and his offense one last attempt at a comeback, but they fell short. With Buffalo faced with a fourth-and-1 and 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick drew 11-year veteran Juqua Parker offsides, sealing Buffalo's fourth win of the season and pushing the Eagles further down in the NFC East cellar.
Vick will continue to run his way into the record books next Sunday when they visit their division rival and first-place Washington Redskins.
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