ATLANTA, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick threw for more than 300 yards for the first time in his brief but brilliant career Sunday to lead the Falcons to a 36-15 victory over the Detroit Lions and keep them on pace for their first playoff berth in four years.
Vick threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 42 more yards to keep the Falcons (9-5-1) a half game ahead of the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints for one of two NFC wild card berths.
The Falcons will make the playoffs if they win in Cleveland next Sunday or if either the Giants or Saints lose. New York will host Philadelphia Saturday and New Orleans will be at home Sunday against Carolina.
The Falcons owned a 19-0 lead after three quarters and added a field goal early in the fourth before the Lions (3-12) scored two touchdowns in a 22-second span to close the gap to 22-15 with 9:31 left to play.
But Vick and running back Warren Dunn, who rushed for 132 yards, paced the Falcons to two late touchdowns to put the game away.
The Falcons led at halftime, 13-0, on two 23-yard field goals by Jay Feely and Vick's 19-yard pass to Quentin McCord with 17 seconds left in the second period.
McCord, only recently activated and with just one reception before Sunday, caught seven passes for 182 yards.
"It's something I've been waiting to do since my career started," Vick said. "Everybody did their jobs. Quentin McCord stepped up big. He played like we knew he was capable of playing."
Feely had his third and fourth field goals, from 36 and 20 yards, in the third quarter and added his fifth, from 39 yards, early in the fourth.
An Eddie Drummond 88-yard kickoff return following Feely's last field goal put the Lions at the Falcons' 15 and they scored on a one-yard pass from Mike McMahon to James Stewart. The Lions added a two-point conversion on a pass from McMahon to Bill Schroeder.
Two plays later, following a fumble recovery that was returned to the Atlanta 15, McMahon threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Aveion Cason.
With Detroit having climbed within seven points and the game suddenly in jeopardy, Vick drove the Falcons 88 yards in 10 plays to take 5:42 off the clock. Dunn scored the touchdown on a three-yard run with 3:49 to play and Atlanta tacked on another touchdown on a 34-yard throw from Vick to Brian Finneran with 96 seconds remaining.
"We had an awful lot of distractions," Atlanta Coach Dan Reeves said. "We were losing players. Coming into today, we had more starters than ever out of the lineup. Guys stepped up and met the challenge. The Lions got within seven points, so we really got through some tough times and matured a little bit."
With starter Joey Harrington sidelined with an irregular heartbeat, McMahon completed 11 of 33 for 149 yards with three interceptions.
"It was real sporadic," Lions Coach Marty Mornhinweg said. "It would be an understatement to say we were out of sync. We missed some easy ones today, I thought, both by the quarterback as well as the receivers."
The Lions completed their second straight winless season on the road and have lost 16 in a row away from home.
"That's tough," Mornhinweg said. "We've played a lot of close games on the road. It's a simple case of where we are a play or two short."
