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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at ARI | BAL at SEA | CLE at CIN | DAL at CAR | DEN at SD | GB at CHI | HOU at IND | KC at DET |
| MIA at NE | NYG at BUF | NYJ at TEN | OAK at JAX | PHI at NO | PIT at STL | TB at SF | WAS at MIN |
Week 16 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 27, Arizona Cardinals 30
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
In a game that both teams could have packed it in, the Falcons fought the Cardinals hard and had chances to win this game, but to no avail. In the first half, Atlanta had two big plays that kept them in contention. On its second possession, on a fourth and two, they called a fake punt on their own 34 yard line and handed the ball off to LB Travis Williams who ran 37 yards for a first down. Four plays later RB Jason Snelling tied the score 7-7 with a one yard touchdown run. Then later in the second quarter, Chris Redman hit Laurent Robinson on a 74 yard touchdown pass to again tie the score 14-14. This was a game of two halves as Atlanta fell behind 24-14 at halftime, but found a good rhythm in the second half, scoring on three of its last four possessions to take a 27-24 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Atlanta Defense let the team down as they allowed the Cardinals to drive 68 yards for the tying field goal at the end of regulation. Then Atlanta lost the coin flip and again allowed the Cardinals to drive 58 yards for the winning field goal ending the Falcon's hopes for their fourth victory.
QB Chris Redman had a solid statistical game going 28 for 42 for 315 yards and two touchdowns. Most of Redman's yardage was in the second half, as he threw for 155 yards in the fourth quarter alone. He hit eight different receivers, but favored WR Roddy White, who ended the game with 141 yards on 12 catches. Redman threw one interception, but it was a critical one in the red zone, ending a potential scoring opportunity in the first half.
The Falcons' run game never got on track, as the team only had 102 yards rushing. RB Warrick Dunn (12 carries 13 yards) and RB Jerious Norwood (seven carries for 33 yards) found little room to run.
WR Roddy White and WR Laurent Robinson both had 100 yard games, with Robinson getting most of his yardage on a pretty 74 yard touchdown catch in the first half. At time both receivers found room in the Cardinals secondary.
| Arizona Cardinals |
Arizona was more effective when passing the ball in this game. The Cardinals appeared to have the game in hand at the half leading 24-14,scoring on four of its last five first half possessions, but the team came out sluggish in the second half and allowed Atlanta to come back and make it a game in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, the Cardinals scored on three Kurt Warner touchdown passes (two to Anquan Boldin and one to RB JJ Arrington.) and had amassed 223 yards of total offense. The Cardinals offense did little in the third quarter, while the Cardinal defense started to allow Atlanta to find some success. After allowing Atlanta to score on three of its last four possessions, the Cardinals found themselves down 27-24, with no times outs. The team then drove 63 yards for the game-tying field goal to end regulation. Then won the coin toss in overtime, and drove another 58 yards for the game winning Neil Rackers 31 yard field goal.
QB Kurt Warner again had a great fantasy game going 36 for 53 for 366 yards and three touchdowns. When he had time he found receivers open easily over the middle. He completed passes to nine different receivers and had no interceptions.
RB Edgerrin James found the running difficult against a Falcons defense, and was again held without a touchdown. He ended the game with only 76 yards on 25 carries.
WR Anquan Boldin had his two touchdowns in the first half, both on red zone plays where he caught the ball short and simply bulled over the opposition. Boldin made several sensational one handed catches and was easily the Cardinals most feared offensive weapon. WR Larry Fitzgerald caught six balls for 72 yards, but was held out of the end zone.
PK Neil Rackers ended up being the hero of this game, by converting pressure kicks to tie the game in regulation, and then in overtime to give the Cardinals' its seventh victory of the season.
What you ought to know
| QB Chris Redman, Pass: 28 - 42 - 315 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Chris Redman played an excellent game rallying the Falcon offense to score on three of its last four possessions. He was 28 for 42 for 315 yards and two touchdowns, including a pretty 74 yard touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson. He looked poised at times in the pocket and nearly pulled out this game. He did throw one crucial interception in the red zone, ending an early Falcon drive in the first quarter. Redman hit eight different receivers on the day.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 12 - 13 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Dunn was an afterthought in this game, as Atlanta never got their ground game going. Dunn found little room to run against the Cardinal defense.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 7 - 33 - 0, Rec: 1 - -4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Like Dunn, Norwood was not a factor in the game, due to Atlanta all but abandoning the run game. Norwood was more explosive than Dunn, and did contribute to the Atlanta field position by returning the kick offs.
| RB Jason Snelling, Rush: 2 - 18 - 1 |
Snelling came in when the Falcons went into their short yardage package in the first half, and scored on a one yard run in the first quarter.
| RB Ovie Mughelli, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets) |
Mughelli caught one ball for six yards, and was targeted three times out of the backfield.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 12 - 141 - 0 (17 targets) |
White was the team's leading receiver hauling in 12 catches for 141 yards, but with no scores. His longest catch was for 26 yards.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 7 - 114 - 1 (12 targets) |
Laurent Robinson was one of the two Atlanta receivers with 100 yard games. He beat the Cardinals secondary on a 74 yard pass in the second quarter to tie the game 14-14. Robinson ran a post pattern and easily beat Antrell Rolle of the Cardinals.
| WR Adam Jennings, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jennings caught all three ball sent his way for 23 yards.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jenkins was targeted with only one pass, and finished with one reception for 15 yards.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 2 - 12 - 1 (5 targets) |
Crumpler caught a seven yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was one of only two catches on the day.
| PK Morten Andersen 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Anderson made two second half field goals (23, 31 yards) and was perfect on all three of his extra point attempts.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Falcons rush defense played a very good game giving up only 76 yards. They did not allow a Cardinal rushing touchdown and held RB Edgerrin James to a long run of only 9 yards.
| ATL Pass Defense |
The pass defense gave up three scores and at times looked sluggish. Two scores were by Anquan Boldin in the red zone, when he took short passes and simply bulled over the defender. The other was a short touchdown by Cardinal running back Arrington of four yards. They allowed Warner to complete 36 passes for 366 yards and three scores. They had no interceptions and no sacks.
| QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 36 - 53 - 361 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
Warner played an excellent game throwing 53 passes. He completed passes to nine different receivers and ended the game with 366 yards on 36 completions. His touchdown passes were to Anquan Boldin (2) and JJ Arrington (1). Most importantly is that Warner did not turn the ball over. He threw no interceptions, but did have one fumble but recovered it to keep a drive alive.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 25 - 76 - 0, Rec: 5 - 21 - 0 (5 targets) |
James found little room to run against a spirited Atlanta front seven. He finished the game with only 76 yards on 25 carries. He did contribute a little more in the passing game catching five balls for 21 yards. James' longest run was only nine yards.
| RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 4 - 11 - 1 (5 targets) |
Arrington caught a four yard touchdown pass in the first half. He only carried the ball once for no gain.
| WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 13 - 162 - 2 (14 targets) |
Boldin was the game's offensive star with 13 catches for 162 yards and two scores. On his touchdowns, both were in the red zone, where he simply took short passes, and ran over the opposing tacklers. He appears to have little problem with his dislocated toe, and ran crisp routes. He had several great one handed catches.
| WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 6 - 72 - 0 (11 targets) |
Fitzgerald hauled in six catches for 72 yards, but no scores. He also found the Atlanta secondary of little resistance, but did take a backseat to Boldin in this game.
| WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 3 - 46 - 0 (5 targets) |
Johnson had three catches for 46 yards, with a long reception of 19 yards. That reception came late in the game and allowed the Cardinals to continue their game tying drive.
| WR Jerheme Urban, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (4 targets) |
Urban caught only two balls for 17 yards. He was used in three- and four receiver sets for the offense.
| TE Troy Bienemann, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Bienemann caught a one pass for eight yards, and was mainly kept in for blocking purposes.
| TE Ben Patrick, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) |
Patrick caught one pass for 21 yards.
| PK Neil Rackers 3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 12 points |
Rackers converted on all three of his field goal attempts, including the game tying and game winning efforts. He hit on field goals of 32, 29 and 31 yards. He was perfect on all three of his extra points.
| ARI Rush Defense |
The Cardinals rush defense played a good game, but the stats are skewed a bit as Atlanta had to play catch up in the second half. They did give up a one yard touchdown, but kept the Falcon rushers in check, allowing only 102 yards in the game.
| ARI Pass Defense |
The Cardinals pass defense nearly lost this game for the Cardinals and gave up big plays. The touchdown plays were 74 yards to Laurent Robinson on a long post pattern, and to Alge Crumpler in the red zone for seven yards. On the day, they gave up 315 yards on 28 completions to eight different receivers.
