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Week 18 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 24, Arizona Cardinals 30
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
The Falcons played well in the first half, controlling the ball for over 21 minutes and jumping out to a 17--14 lead, but then began to struggle. In the second half Atlanta quickly fell behind 28--17, couldn't get their offense on track, and was unable to pick up a first down until there was 6:28 left in the game. They were unable to control the line of scrimmage and the second best rushing attack in the NFL was held to a season low 60 yards.
Offensive rookie of the year Matt Ryan attempted 40 passes and completed 26 for 199 yards and two touchdowns, but threw two bad interceptions and was caught in the end zone for a safety. Roddy White caught his season best 11 passes but his longest gain only covered 12 yards. Michael Turner was held to 42 yards on 18 carries but still scored a touchdown in the second quarter.
The Atlanta pass rush was unable to get to Kurt Warner and their run defense couldn't stop Edgerrin James.
| Arizona Cardinals |
The pass happy Cardinals had the worst rushing attack in the NFL this year, but an energized Edgerrin James kept the Falcons on their heels by averaging 4.6 yards on each of his 16 carries. Rookie Tim Hightower pitched in with 23 yards on six carries and scored a rare Cardinals' rushing touchdown.
Kurt Warner spread the ball around to nine different Arizona receivers as he hit 19 of 32 for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He was at his best late in the third quarter when he engineered a 14 play drive that ate up nearly eight minutes of clock. Warner converted four times on third down and also scrambled four yards to avoid a sack. Larry Fitzergald led all receivers with six receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown, while fellow pro bowler Anquan Boldin caught a short pass near the sidelines, turned up field, and scored the Cardinals other passing TD 71 yards later.
The swarming Arizona defense held the Falcons ground game in check, returned a forced fumble for a touchdown, recorded three sacks including a safety, and intercepted two passes.
What you ought to know
| QB Matt Ryan, Pass: 26 - 40 - 199 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 6 - 0 |
Ryan started off slowly. His first pass of the game was intercepted and he completed just one of his first four attempts for 11 yards. After Arizona jumped out 14--3, Ryan hit 17 of 24 for 130 yards, one TD, and a 17--14 first half lead. While he showed flashes of poise and promise he still made too many rookie mistakes. After Arizona scored on a long, clock killing drive in the third quarter he immediately threw an interception which put the tired Falcon defense back on the field. He rallied his team late and threw a short touchdown pass to Roddy White with about 4:00 minutes left in the game.
In the last four regular season games Ryan threw five interceptions after just six in his first 12 games. This was his third straight game of throwing for less than 200 yards after a streak of nine straight games of at least 207.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 18 - 42 - 1, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Turner faced a Cardinals defense stacked to stop him. Because the defensive linemen kept their gaps and the linebackers stayed at home, the cutback lanes usually weren't there. Also, S Adrian Wilson played like a fourth linebacker much of the game. Turner had to battle to gain 42 yards on 18 carries, although he did score a touchdown in the second quarter on a four yard run.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 2 - 12 - 0, Rec: 1 - 28 - 0 (2 targets) |
With Turner unable to get the running game going Norwood never had a chance to change the pace. He carried twice for 12 yards and caught one key pass in the fourth quarter, converting a fourth down play into a first down which led to Atlanta's final touchdown. He also averaged 27 yards on two kickoff returns.
| RB Jason Snelling (2 targets) |
The Falcons' special teams standout was the hot read on two blitzes but the passes were less about completions and more about avoiding the sack.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 11 - 84 - 1 (17 targets) |
White was Ryan's favorite target and caught his season high 11 passes, but two attempts were intercepted. While the Falcons tried to get him the ball deep down the field his longest gain only covered 12 yards. In the second quarter he flat out dropped a perfect 36 yard pass and later was overthrown in the end zone. In the third quarter he got behind the defender on a fly pattern but the pass was under thrown. He caught a five yard TD pass with 3:36 left in the game to pad the stats.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 5 - 51 - 0 (10 targets) |
Even though the Cardinals were rolling coverage to White's side of the field Jenkins had difficulty getting open and made some tough catches because he could not gain separation. He caught five for 51 and had one long gain of 21 yards.
| WR Brian Finneran, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
The popular veteran caught two short passes for 11 yards.
| WR Harry Douglas, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (2 targets) |
Douglas fielded three punts and averaged 10.3 yards per return and caught one pass for zero yards.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 3 - 11 - 1 (3 targets) |
Although Peelle only gained 11 yards on three receptions, he caught the go ahead Atlanta touchdown just before the half. While he has limited fantasy value, Ryan seems to love him in short yardage situations.
| TE Marcus Pollard, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Pollard caught two passes in the second quarter but had one ball stripped. Atlanta retained possession and went on to score the go ahead touchdown.
| PK Jason Elam 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Elam hit a 30 yard field goal in the second quarter and converted all three extra points.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Cardinals had been the worst rushing team in the league but Edgerrin James averaged 4.6 yards per carry. As a team, Arizona picked up five rushing first downs and scored a rushing touchdown.
| ATL Pass Defense |
Warner hit a predictable 19 of 32 for 271 yards. The Cardinals averaged 292 yards per game this season, second best in the league. Fitzgerald and Boldin each caught TD passes, but it wasn't the passing game that carried the day for Arizona. Atlanta had to respect the threat, however, which gave the running game all the room it needed.
| QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 19 - 32 - 271 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 0 - 0 |
Warner turned in a solid game, hitting 19 of 32 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he did not take a sack and the receiver should have caught his one interception. He hit Fitzgerald on a 42 yard flea flicker for a touchdown, and also connected with Anquan Boldin on a short pass which he turned into a 71 yard TD. Warner took over this game in the third quarter when he directed the Cardinals on a 14 play drive. He converted four third downs and even scrambled four yards to keep the drive alive. Arizona scored a touchdown and took a two score lead into the fourth quarter.
Warner completed 67.1 percent of his passes this season and threw for 4,583 yards. His 30 touchdowns set a team record, eclipsing the old mark of 28 by shared by legendary Cardinal QBs Neil Lomax and Charley Johnson.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 16 - 73 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
He's ba-a-a-ack. It was vintage Edgerrin James, angry with the Cardinals for being benched earlier this year, who took out his frustration on the Atlanta defensive. He set up the first Arizona touchdown in the first quarter after three straight carries netted 21 yards. James took the next handoff into the line, then turned and pitched the ball back to Warner. Fitzgerald caught the 42 yard pass in the end zone for Arizona's first score. He seldom went down on first contact and seemed to go out of his way to punish would be tacklers. Even when James came out of the game for a breather he was smiling on the sidelines.
James has openly stated that he wants to sign on with a more run oriented team next year. If he can continue playing like this, and being so highly motivated and well rested there is no reason why he can't, Arizona could be the surprise team of the playoffs.
| RB Tim Hightower, Rush: 6 - 23 - 1 |
The rookie was used to give James a breather. He picked up 23 yards on six carries and scored the Cardinals' only rushing touchdown. All of his carries came in the second half after Boldin left the game.
| RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 1 - -3 - 0 (2 targets) |
The third down back had a minimal affect on this contest. He returned three kickoffs for a 17 yard average, lost two yards on a first quarter carry, and lost three yards on a screen pass.
| WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 6 - 101 - 1 (9 targets) |
Fitzgerald led all receivers with six catches for 101 yards and one touchdown. Arizona ran a flea flicker on the scoring play and Fitzgerald went high in the end zone to snag the pass above Lawyer Milloy and Chris Houston. It was the first touchdown of the game.
| WR Steve Breaston, Rush: 1 - -8 - 0, Rec: 2 - 39 - 0 (3 targets) |
While he played the entire game, all of his targets came in the second half after Boldin left the game. He also carried a poorly conceived reverse in the fourth quarter, with Arizona needing one more first down to ice the victory, and was promptly dropped for an eight yard loss by John Abraham.
| WR Jerheme Urban, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (3 targets) |
The first pass thrown to him bounced off either his hands or shoulder pads or both for and easy Atlanta interception. He then caught two second half passes for seven yards as the Cardinals divided up the passes that would normally go to Anquan Boldin.
| WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 2 - 72 - 1 (6 targets) |
Boldin sat out the last two regular season games with a shoulder injury and was injured again in the second quarter but not his shoulder. After he caught a short pass in the flat he cut up the left sideline and outran S Lawyer Milloy to the end zone. At the end of the play Boldin was limping noticeably. Early reports suggested leg cramps, but at the start of the second half he was reported to have an undisclosed hamstring injury and did not return to the game.
| TE Stephen Spach, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (2 targets) |
A modest stat line belies the importance of one player's contribution. Clinging to a six point lead, facing third and 16 with 2:17 left in the game, Spach beat Lawyer Milloy on a seam route and caught a 23 yard pass for a first down. Atlanta was out of timeouts and Warner knelt on the next three plays to end the game.
| TE Ben Patrick, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Patrick caught a pass in the first quarter for eight yards.
| PK Neil Rackers 0 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Rackers missed from 51 yards out but converted all four PATs.
| ARI Rush Defense |
An outstanding effort by the Cardinals shut down Atlanta's lethal rushing attack which ranked second in the NFL. The Falcons gained a season low 60 yards and Michael Turner only averaged 2.3 yards per carry. The play of the game was turned in by defensive tackle Darnell Docket who beat G Harvey Dahl and hit Turner as Ryan attempted a hand off. The ball bounced up, blitzing S Antreal Rolle picked it off in mid air, and scampered untouched 27 yards for the go ahead touchdown.
| ARI Pass Defense |
Although Matt Ryan attempted 40 passes and completed 26 for two touchdowns, the Cardinals sacked him three times - including a safety - and intercepted him twice. The first pick, by former Cornhusker Ralph Brown, led to their Arizona's first touchdown. The defensive game plan called for an all out effort to stop the run and make Ryan beat them. He couldn't.
