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DETROIT - The Falcons dominated the Lions so thoroughly, Michael Vick was able to kick back and relax.
Vick threw two touchdown passes to Alge Crumpler and Warrick Dunn ran for 116 yards to lead Atlanta to a 27-7 victory over Detroit on Thursday.
"It's always nice when you get an opportunity in the fourth quarter to sit down, enjoy the moment and the victory," Vick said.
Atlanta (7-4) took advantage of playing the lowly Lions (4-7), closing the gap behind NFC South co-leaders Carolina and Tampa Bay to a half-game after losing two straight at home.
The only positive for Detroit was this: The result of its annual Thanksgiving game wasn't as bad as last year, when Indianapolis beat the Lions 41-9, handing them their most lopsided loss on the holiday.
"It was ugly and it was embarrassing," said Joey Harrington, one of three quarterbacks Detroit used.
Vick was 12-for-22 for 146 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Crumpler tied career highs with seven receptions and two touchdowns and had 104 yards receiving. Dunn went over the100-yard mark on just 17 carries and topped 1,000 yards for the second straight season.
"Today was just a total team win," Crumpler said. "Our defense came out and created turnovers. Offensively, we controlled the clock."
Atlanta, the NFL's top rushing team, ran for 256 yards to the Lions' 75.
A lucky bounce helped the Lions avoid the shutout.
Detroit backup Jeff Garcia's pass to Roy Williams was broken up by DeAngelo Hall, then bounced off safety Keion Carpenter before Williams caught it for a 31-yard score with 9:18 left.