Jan 3rd 2009 6:00PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Falcons, NFL Playoffs
The first half of the Cardinals-Falcons game was characterized by big plays from Arizona receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald and Arizona running back Edgerrin James looking revitalized. But the Falcons went on a late flurry to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.

The Falcons scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the half. The first, a seven-yard run by Michael Turner, came on a 14-play, 77-yard drive on which the Atlanta offense looked like it had finally figured out the Arizona defense after a first quarter in which the Falcons couldn’t get anything going. The second touchdown drive covered just 23 yards and followed a Kurt Warner interception.

Warner’s numbers don’t look too impressive at first glance — he completed just six of his 15 passes — but the Cardinals have had two huge plays in the passing game. The first was a 41-yard touchdown catch by Fitzgerald (pictured above) that came on a flea flicker. The second was a short pass that Boldin turned into a 71-yard touchdown, racing down the sideline and outrunning the Atlanta secondary.Continue Reading