Arizona Cardinals: What to Know about the Atlanta Falcons

Following their loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Arizona Cardinals will try to get back into the win column with a win against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Arizona Cardinals are running out of time for a playoff push. In fact, a run into January looks impossible at this point in the season.

They’re 4-5-1 and fresh off of a loss last week to the Minnesota Vikings. They’ll look to get their fifth win of the season this week as they travel to play the Atlanta Falcons.

What’s their story?

The Atlanta Falcons own a 6-4 record, which puts them in first place in their NFC South division. Following their Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Falcons rattled off four-straight wins, thanks to outstanding play from quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones.

Ryan has thrown for 3,247 yards through his first ten games, and is second behind Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints. According to espn.com, Ryan’s 81.2 quarterback rating is third-best in all of football, behind Tom Brady and rookie Dak Prescott. He’s already thrown 24 touchdowns, which is more than his total last season (21).

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And Ryan’s favorite target, Jones, is enjoying an incredible year in his sixth season. He leads all receivers with 1,105 receiving yards, yards per game at 110.5, and he’s fourth with 18.1 average yards per reception.

The Falcons started last season at 5-0 and when they were first defeated in Week 6, they followed it up with a win the following week. They were 6-1, and looked like a threat to the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South, who matched Atlanta’s undefeated start with an impressive win streak of their own.

But then, the Falcons began to tank. They lost their next six games and by mid-December had fallen below the .500 mark. Although they won two of their final three games, the playoffs were already out of reach. They finished at 8-8, while their rivaled Panthers ended at 15-1 and made a Super Bowl appearance.

Atlanta has done well enough this season to remain in first place, while the Panthers were 1-5 through the first six contests. With 4-6 records, the Panthers are tied with the Saints for last in the division. The Falcons have a good shot to punch their ticket to the postseason, as they have a 1.0 game division lead over the Buccaneers.

X’s and O’s

Like I mentioned earlier, the Falcons have a wicked connection in Ryan and Jones. So of course, they’re ranked first in the NFL with an average of 32 points scored per game, and lead the league thanks to their 302 total points. They’ve scored more than 30 points six different times this season.

But luckily for the Cardinals, the Falcons defense is one of the worst in the league. They rank 29th in points allowed per game with 28.3 and 27th for total yards allowed with 3,859. Carson Palmer and his offense should have a field day in the passing game since Atlanta sits second to last 283.0 passing yards allowed per game.

The Cardinals have a weapon with David Johnson in the run game, and should use him to their advantage on Sunday. Johnson averages 86.3 yards per game, and has rushed for over 100 yards in four of his last six match-ups. The Falcons defense gives up an average of 102.9 rushing yards per game.

The Cardinals are 3.0 games out of first place with just six games left in the regular season. It’s nearly impossible that they’re able to squeak into their third-straight postseason appearance. Either way, a win is a win and that’s what we’re all rooting for on Sunday.

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