Arizona Cardinals vs Atlanta Falcons: Preview, prediction
By Scott Allen
As for the Cardinals defense, they played fairly well last week in Minnesota. They only gave up 16 points as a unit. The Vikings defense and special teams came up with the other 14 points.
The Cardinals will get safety Tyrann Mathieu back this week after injuring his shoulder in Carolina. There was a chance he was going to come back last week but the Cardinals wanted to give it one more week.
They will need to come up big against the high-flying offense of the Falcons. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is having an MVP-like season. Receiver Julio Jones, although quieter as of late, torched Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson two years ago.
The Cardinals will need to shut down the Falcons passing game but also not ignore their running game. Falcons running back Devonta Freeman has 699-yards rushing and three touchdowns while Tevin Coleman has 234-yards rushing and five touchdowns. He also has 19 receptions and a touchdown in the air.
For the Cardinals to come out with a victory on Sunday will take a mistake-free contest on their part. They need to consume time on drives and have a balanced attack. All easier said than done.
The Cardinals have done very little to inspire confidence in any predictions for the future. The Cardinals will give the Falcons a game but in the end it is likely to be the same old story down in Georgia. Atlanta 31 Cardinals 23