Jan 3rd 2009 7:53PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Falcons, NFC South, NFC West, NFL Playoffs.

You have to give the Arizona Cardinals credit. They don’t often make the playoffs, but when they do, they get their money’s worth. The last time they were in the playoffs was 10 years ago, and they won a game that time around as well.

I guess all those people constantly reminding Arizona fans how much their team sucks needed to check themselves a bit. After a beautifully executed flea-flicker — resulting in a touchdown by Larry Fitzgerald — the Cards outplayed the Falcons for most of the game. There was a brief interlude where Atlanta took the lead due to a late first-half interception deep in Cardinals territory. That sequence alone is why the game ended up much closer than it should have been.

The Cardinals controlled this game at the line of scrimmage from start to finish. Coming in, the Atlanta Falcons were the ones with the vaunted rushing attack, while the Cardinals ran the ball less than any team in the league. With John Abraham being rendered basically meaningless and the Cardinals defensive front living in the Falcons backfield, the Cards outran the Falcons.
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