The Atlanta Falcons are taking on the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 16, NFC matchup on Sunday at State Farm Stadium. Atlanta is 5-9, 3rd in the NFC West, and eliminated from playoff contention. The Cardinals are 3-11 and in last place in a rugged NFC West.
Falcons and Cardinals Season Summaries
Atlanta’s season hasn’t gone well in totality, losing close games consistently. To make matters worse, their starting quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., was injured in their Week 11, 27-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers, with a torn ACL.
He wasn’t the only one, though, as star wide receiver Drake London sustained a knee injury that turned out to be a PCL Sprain to his left knee. It has kept him out of four games late in the season, but he is questionable to play on Sunday against the Cardinals.
Arizona’s season has been much worse, being that they have a 3-11 record. Starting quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a mid-foot sprain in Week five vs. the Titans. Murray was placed on IR sometime after. They went to quarterback backup Jacoby Brissett, who has had to steer the ship.
Brissett has 2,708 yards and 18 touchdowns to six interceptions. Brissett has played well for Arizona in Murray’s absence, putting together a string of good games, even though their record doesn’t quite reflect that.
The Falcons Will Win If:
The Falcons will win if they can stop Arizona tight end Trey McBride. McBride has been on a tear this season, catching 105 passes for 1,071 yards and 10 touchdowns. McBride will be a tough guard for Atlanta’s defense as he’s one of the best in the league.
The Falcons will also need to put pressure on Jacoby Brissett, but with edge rusher James Pearce Jr. listed as questionable, that will be something to note. The Falcons’ defense had done a good job of getting after the quarterback with Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker combining for 13.5 sacks on the season so far.
The Falcons Will Lose If:
The Falcons will lose if the offense doesn’t get into a rhythm, and that starts with running back Bijan Robinson. Last week against Tampa Bay, Robinson had 19 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. Robinson enables Atlanta to run a balanced offense.
If Robinson gets rolling, that’ll make it easier for quarterback Kirk Cousins to get in a rhythm and utilize the play-action. The less pressure on Cousins, the better it will be for Atlanta. Cousins has 1,218 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions so far this season.
