Flashback Friday: Top 5 plays of Michael Vick’s career

The Eagles do battle with the Falcons on Sunday night, so why not look at some highlights from Michael Vick, a man who shined for both franchises?

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football this weekend. If you’re a fan of either team, you probably have a tendency to think of Michael Vick whenever both of these teams are on the field at the same time.

In typical ‘Flashback Friday’ fashion, it seems to be the right time to take a look back at an electrifying player that suited up for both franchises.

Vick excited fans in Atlanta from 2001-2006 and was elected to the Pro Bowl three times there.

After being incarcerated for a dog-fighting conviction, Vick’s NFL opportunities seemed limited until he was given the opportunity to back up Donovan McNabb by Andy Reid in 2009.

That worked out fairly well as McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins in 2010. Kevin Kolb was the incumbent starter, but after he was injured in the first game with a concussion, Vick took the reigns and never looked back.

He went on to have an MVP-caliber season, arguably the best season of his career during that 2010 campaign. Let’s take a look at the top five plays from his career.

5. Who remembers that play-action bootleg touchdown versus the Packers in 2005?

This play is, sometimes, forgotten about, and it shouldn’t be. This was vintage Vick, who had the swagger use the fake and extend it longer than he probably thought he had to. Thanks to that legendary speed, he was able to beat the Green Bay Packers‘ defender to the corner of the endzone. That one’s number four on this list, but it’s fifth on ours.

4. Vick channels his inner-Harry Houdini again, this time versus the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.

The Eagles ended up losing this game to the San Francisco 49ers, but Vick had a career-high 416 passing yards. Based on this play alone, you can see why. This one’s fifth on the above video but fourth on our list.

3. ‘7’ rattles off a 51-yard run versus the New Orleans Saints in 2006.

His speed is what made Vick so special. This play makes that clearly obvious. His teammates didn’t even get a chance to block for him because he was already past them. There aren’t many clips of that one floating around, but you can see this one here.

Just keep in mind the fact that all footage of the NFL is owned by the NFL.

2. Can we even pick a play from the ‘Monday Night Massacre’?

Eagles fans will never forget this game. It was the best of his career, and it was on primetime television. It’s hard to pick one play out of this performance, but if we had to, we’d go with the first.

Clip courtesy of the NFL’s official YouTube channel

1. Every football fan should know what this one is.

You knew this was coming. Vick dropped back in play-action on second-and-nine in overtime. He took off and zigzagged up the field, split two Vikings making them collide and dashed into the endzone for a 46-yard game-winning touchdown run. He ended the game with 173 rushing yards. Iconic.

Clip courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons’ official YouTube channel

This one’s a gift. How about some highlights on a recent Falcons and Eagles tilt?

Clip courtesy of the NFL’s official YouTube channel

Enjoy the game ladies and gentlemen. This is an important early game for both teams that the winner could benefit from later.