Arizona Cardinals face another struggling team in Falcons
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals travel east for their last early Sunday game of the season
Just about nothing has gone right for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. Now they are just trying to reach the finish line. Their opponent on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons, are trying to do the same.
Both teams have struggled and failed to meet expectations. While the Cardinals were thought to be an average .500 team at best, the 4-9 Falcons thought they’d be going to the postseason again.
It’s an 11 a.m. game for those in Arizona on Sunday. The game is on FOX with Kenny Albert and Ronde Barber on the call.
The Cardinals are going to be without defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche who had ACL surgery this week. He will likely be out into the 2019 season. We will see if the Cardinals decide to hang on to him next year.
As for the Falcons, it’s been a disappointing year. The offense has shown up for the most part. Quarterback Matt Ryan has 28 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He’s at 4,076-yards passing.
Receiver Julio Jones started slow but has picked it up. He has 94 receptions and five touchdowns. He didn’t score a touchdown this season until November 4th at the Washington Redskins.
The Falcons defense has been the let down. The Cardinals can attest as both units were expected to be strong. The Falcons have actually given up more points than the Cardinals, 367-327.
This one though is at home for the Falcons, a place the Cardinals traditionally don’t succeed at. The Cardinals have lost eight straight in Atlanta. Their last win was in 1994 at the end of the 1993 season.
At this point, don’t expect much. Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen is still learning. He and the Cardinals offense left a lot of fans yawning last week in the 17-3 loss to the Detroit Lions at home.
Next. Huge challenge ahead for Cardinals corner. dark
The Falcons will win their ninth straight against the Cardinals at home 34-10. These are two teams trying to play their season’s out but there is plenty of talent on the Falcons side of the ball to win this one without much issue.