ATLANTA, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Michael Vick, returning to action after missing one week with a shoulder injury, produced the longest scoring run ever by an Atlanta quarterback Sunday in helping the Falcons coast past the punchless Carolina Panthers, 30-0.
It was Atlanta's first shutout in nine years and only the second recorded in the NFL this season. Tampa Bay blanked Baltimore in Week 2, 25-0.
Vick ran for 91 yards on six carries, 44 of those yards coming on a touchdown run late in the third period. He also completed 16 of 22 passes for 178 yards and caught a 28-yard pass as well to account for 297 total yards. Vick sat out the fourth quarter to give his shoulder a rest.
"I felt good," Vick said. "I felt like my shoulder was 100 percent. The thing that I was worried about was getting out there and falling on it. But once I fell on it and got sacked and didn't really feel it, I felt like I could go on and play the type of game that I like to play.
"And that's throwing the ball around and running. Once I started to do that, I just got into a rhythm."
"Michael was phenomenal," Falcons Coach Dan Reeves said. "He amazes me every time I see him. He does so many unbelievable athletic things and has such unbelievable speed. You find yourself screaming, `Get down, get down.' And then he scores a touchdown."
The Falcons, who improved to 3-3, owned a 10-0 lead at the break and had a 68-yard Vick-to-Willie Jackson touchdown pass just seconds before halftime negated by a holding penalty.
Atlanta's first-half points came on a 41-yard field goal by Jay Feely with 17 seconds left in the first period and a seven-yard run by T.J. Duckett 2:40 before halftime. Duckett's run capped 61-yard drive during which Vick picked up 13 yards on a run and threw for 33 more.
The Panthers, now 3-4 after a 3-0 start, were limited offensively because quarterback Chris Weinke's day was cut short.
Making his first start of the season at quarterback, Weinke suffered an apparent concussion late in the second quarter when he took a taking a hit by linebacker Keith Brooking on a running play.
That left the Panthers, who already were without starter Rodney Peete, with fifth-round pick Randy Fasani as their quarterback.
"We got whipped, outplayed, outcoached in every phase I felt like today," Carolina Coach John Fox said. "My hat is off to them, their staff and their players. I thought they played real well and we didn't."
Carolina could not get past the 50-yard line in the first half and Atlanta then held the ball for nearly 10 minutes after taking the second half kickoff. The Falcons took a 17-0 lead when Duckett, a 252-pound rookie from Michigan State, went over from a yard out for his second touchdown of the day. They were his first two scores as a professional.
Vick's 44-yard keeper gave the Falcons a 24-0 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Falcons recovered a fumble at the Carolina 39 on the last play of the third period and Feely widened the lead to 27-0 4:10 into the final quarter with a 45-yard field goal. Feely added a 49-yarder just before the two-minute warning.
The Panthers lone scoring opportunity of the afternoon came in the closing two minutes when third-string quarterback Randy Fasani passed them from their own 20 to a first down at the Atlanta four. But four tries at the end zone failed to produce a score.
After losing their first two games of the season by a total of four points, the Falcons have won three out of four.
