ATLANTA, United States (AFP) - Michael Vick ran for 109 yards and threw for 179 more as Atlanta defeated St. Louis 34-17 to remain undefeated in the young National Football League season.
The fourth-year quarterback needed just 12 carries to top the 100-yard mark for the third time in his career and the first since he set an NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 173 against Minnesota in 2002.
"Each and every Sunday I think I'll continue to get better," Vick said. "That has been my plan since March, since I've been introduced to this new offence.
"The sky's the limit," added Vick, whose team snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Rams. "It's a big win for our team."
Early on, Vick relied on his arm. He hit fullback Justin Griffith with a 62-yard pass on Atlanta's second drive found Griffith again for a three-yard score and a 7-0 lead. His 26 yards rushing on the first drive of the second quarter set up Warrick Dunn's two-yard score for 14-0.
Following a touchdown by St. Louis's Marshall Faulk in the second quarter, the Rams tied the game 17-17 in the third.
But any hopes of a comeback win ended in the fourth when Falcons defensive end Brady Smith stripped quarterback Marc Bulger of the ball in the end zone for the last Atlanta touchdown.
While Faulk was able to move ahead of Cris Carter and into fourth place on the all-time touchdowns list, he was limited to just 20 yards.
Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Steve McNair, who shared Most Valuable Player honors last season, shared the spotlight as Manning's Indianapolis traveled to Nashville and came away with a 31-17 victory over McNair's Tennessee.
Edgerrin James was the star of the show, rushing for 100 of his 124 yards and two touchdowns in the second half in the battle of AFC South division rivals.
The Titans hadn't allowed an opposing back to rush for 100 yards against them in 29 straight home games. They duly stuffed James in the first half, holding the Colts' all-time leading rusher to 24 yards on 10 carries.
But James broke out in the second half and scored on runs of four and 30 yards in the fourth quarter.
It was the opposite story for Tennessee's Chris Brown, who enjoyed his second 100-yard rushing game in as many weeks. He rushed for 104 yards on 19 carries in the first half but had just 48 yards in the second.
Manning and McNair also put on a show. Manning completed 24-of-33 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, while McNair threw for more than 250 yards and scored on a one-yard sneak.
Jacksonville posted their second win in as many games this season as Denver's Quentin Griffin lost a fumble in Jacksonville territory with 31 seconds left and allowed the Jaguars to escape with a 7-6 victory.
Jake Plummer, who was attempting to orchestrate his 23rd game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, led the Broncos from deep in their own territory to the Jaguars 21 in the final minutes.
On a 3rd-and-9 play, Griffin was unable to handle the snap from Plummer.
Mistakes - notably seven turnovers - also played a key role in Washington's 20-14 loss at the New York Giants.
Three of the turnovers either led to or resulted in 17 of the Giants' points.
The New York Jets kept their record unblemished as Curtis Martin rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns to become the Jets all-time leading rusher in the Jets' 34-28 victory at San Diego.
In other games, Carolina defeated Kansas City 28-17. The Chiefs, who lost only three games in 2003, have now lost two in the first two weeks of 2004.
In Dallas, Vinny Testaverde threw for 322 yards and a touchdown and the Cowboys defense dominated en route to a 19-12 victory over Cleveland.
Oakland's defense sacked Drew Bledsoe six times in route to a 13-10 win over Buffalo, Detroit defeated Houston 28-16, Seattle beat Tampa Bay 10-6, New Orleans escaped with a 30-27 victory over San Francisco, Baltimore beat AFC North foes Pittsburgh 30-13, Chicago beat NFC North rivals Green Bay 21-10, and Cincinnati beat Miami 16-13.
Super Bowl champions New England beat Arizona 23-12, the Patriots extending their winning streak to 17 games, one shy of tying the NFL record.