Falcons Legend Michael Vick Suffers Brutal Loss at Norfolk State

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 11: Former Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick attends the game between the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Michael Vick has done a lot more losing than winning at Norfolk State, where he is now in his second season as their head football coach.

The Atlanta Falcons legend suffered what was likely his most painful loss on Saturday, though.

The final scoreboard told part of the story: North Carolina Central 29, Norfolk State 28.

The circumstances make it even worse.

How Norfolk State Lost to NC Central

GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 30: Head coach Michael Vick of the Norfolk State Spartans reacts during the second quarter against the Delaware State Hornets at Lincoln Financial Field on October 30, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)

Norfolk State recovered a fumble with 1:36 to play. North Carolina Central had one timeout.

The Spartans could’ve ran the clock down to 15 seconds or less even if they just kneeled the ball down.

They didn’t take knees, though, and their second running play was a rush for quarterback Deljay Bailey. He had the ball knocked out by Khareem Thompson, and NC Central recovered.

Five plays later, North Carolina Central quarterback Joshua Jones threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mekhi Wall with 27 seconds left.

Norfolk State actually got into position to try a 37-yard field goal, but Marco Peery missed it to complete the brutal defeat.

The worst part is that after the game, Vick told reporters he wanted his team to take knees.

“I put my headset down, I called victory formation and all we had to do was take a knee and kneel the clock out,” Vick said postgame, via The Athletic. “That’s just situational football. I don’t know what happened in regard to that. I looked up and we were running the ball, then I saw he fumbled. My final instructions were victory formation. That’s when you kneel it out. That’s when you have zero timeouts left and they had, I think, zero timeouts and the game was over, practically.”

Clearly, Vick was flummoxed by what he had just witnessed. It’s hard to imagine that Norfolk State wasn’t on the same page on their plan near the end of regulation, but if that was the case, it makes the loss feel even worse.

Michael Vick Coaching Record at Norfolk State

GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 30: Head coach DeSean Jackson of the Delaware State Hornets shakes hands with Head coach Michael Vick of the Norfolk State Spartans after the game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 30, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both head coaches played for the Philadelphia Eagles. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)

This is Vick’s second season at Norfolk State.

Last season, the Spartans went 1-11. They didn’t win a conference game in the MEAC.

The loss on Saturday dropped this season’s Norfolk State team to 4-6, including 0-3 in the MEAC. They were oh so close to Vick’s first conference win, but it got away from them.