MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Michael Vick capped another electrifying day with a 46-yard touchdown run 2:25 into overtime Sunday to lift the Atlanta Falcons to a 30-24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
"I've never seen anybody just turn the jets on like he did on that play and I've seen him make some great runs," said Falcons Coach Dan Reeves. "He was determined he wasn't going to stop until he got to the end zone."
The NFL's fastest quarterback, Vick rushed for 173 yards, the most by a quarterback since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, and two touchdowns on just 10 carries. The previous mark of 127 rushing yards for a quarterback was set by Bobby Douglass of the Chicago Bears in 1972.
"He (Vick) has changed the game," said Vikings linebacker Henri Crockett, a Falcon from 1997-2001. "There are going to be no more pocket passers anymore."
Vick set another record by averaging 17.3 yards per carry, topping Cleveland fullback Marion Motley's 17.09 per carry average when he rushed for 188 yards on 11 carries against Pittsburgh on Oct. 29, 1950.
Vick accounted for 346 of Atlanta's 379 yards and threw for a 39-yard score to help the Falcons (8-3-1) extend their unbeaten streak to eight games. The only blemish was a 34-34 tie at Pittsburgh on Nov. 10, in which Vick rallied the Falcons from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit.
Atlanta began the day 1 ½ games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers and visits the Buccaneers next week.
"This team is playing with unbelievable confidence right now," said Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking. "The sky's the limit for us."
On Sunday, Reeves had to try to keep his team from avoiding a letdown against the Vikings (3-9), who had split three of their previous six home games.
Reeves has nice memories of the Metrodome. After the 1998 season, his Falcons rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and defeated the Vikings in overtime, 30-27, in the NFC championship game en route to Super Bowl XXXVIII. In that game, Vikings kicker Gary Anderson, the NFL's all-time leading scorer, missed a short field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
This time, Anderson kicked a 29-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the fourth to tie the game at 24-24 after the Vikings thought they had scored the go-ahead touchdown.
On third and goal from the Atlanta six, Vikings star receiver Randy Moss took a handoff and then threw back across the field to quarterback Daunte Culpepper for what appeared to be a score with 27 seconds left, but it was negated by an illegal formation penalty when rookie left tackle Bryant McKinnie lined up outside without declaring himself as an eligible receiver.
"It's a legal formation, but the tackle (McKinnie) had to declare himself eligible," said Vikings offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. "It's not the tackle's fault. We showed them (the officials) the drawings before the game and they okayed it, but the assumption was that the man on the end of the line was an eligible number."
On third and 11, Culpepper's pass to running back Moe Williams was incomplete and the Vikings settled for the tying field goal.
But after Minnesota won the overtime coin flip, Culpepper was sacked two straight times by linebacker Sam Rogers and Allen Rossum returned the ensuing punt 10 yards to the Minnesota 48.
"Sam Rogers made some big plays for us on the pass rush. It gave us a chance to win the game," Reeves said.
After a two-yard run up the middle by rookie T.J. Duckett, Vick used his superior speed on a play-action fake, racing to his left before crossing back over the middle and breaking two tackles at the 20 en route to the end zone.
"It was a pass play and we got press coverage which we had been beating all game," Vick said. "I got outside the pocket trying to throw the ball downfield. The secondary had their backs turned, so I said I might as well take off with it.
"Coach is always telling me, 'Get down, get down. But I wasn't seeing that. I was thinking end zone."
Vick completed 11 of 28 passes for 173 yards with an interception and also fumbled twice. But his legs beat the Vikings. Vick scored on a 28-yard run with one minute left in the third quarter to tie the game at 21-21 before winning it in overtime.
"The plan was to bring five rushers and secure the lanes, especially on the outside," said Vikings coach Mike Tice. "He had a big run up the middle when we got too wide early in the game. He's such a fast, elusive player you have to stay disciplined not just 98 percent of the time, but 100 percent of the time."
"You can't have five guys on the line all the time just to stop a scrambler," Vikings linebacker Greg Biekert said. "We let him break containment a few times and it cost us."
Culpepper threw for 266 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times, and ran for 35 yards and another score.
The Vikings lead the league with 35 turnovers, including 26 by Culpepper.
Moss caught nine passes for 134 yards, increasing his season totals to 79 receptions for 990 yards.
Michael Bennett rushed for 86 yards on 18 carries, including a one-yard touchdown that gave the Vikings a 21-14 lead with 3:19 left in the third quarter.
Vick then used his legs, rushing for 60 yards on a scoring drive and capping with a 28-yard touchdown run with a minute remaining in the quarter. The drive also featured a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty against defensive end Lorenzo Bromell.
The Vikings had a chance to reclaim the lead, but Anderson had a 46-yard field goal attempt blocked by Brooking with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter. Juran Bolden recovered the block at the Atlanta 45.
Vick then hit Brian Finneran with an 18-yard pass and raced around left end for an eight-yard run to set up a 44-yard field goal by Jay Feely, giving the Falcons a 24-21 lead with 3:33 left in the fourth quarter.
Finneran earlier caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Vick late in the first half and finished with five catches for 114 yards.
