Arizona Cardinals vs. Atlanta Falcons: Full Report Card Grades for Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons played their best game of the season in their win against the 9-3 Arizona Cardinals. They looked like the team that they should have been all season after playing guys in the right spots on defense and running a coherent scheme that led them to their best defensive outing of the year.
The offense also helped the defense out by controlling the ball and the clock. Atlanta won the time of possession in a 37:03-22:57 split. Atlanta needs to keep their ball-control offense going in future games as it helps it play a complete-team game.
Quarterbacks
1 of 10
Matt Ryan played his best game against the modern Cardinals defense. His 30-of-41 line was excellent, and his only truly poor passes were a dropped interception by Jerraud Powers and the long pick-six by Rashad Johnson early in the game.
Taking those two poor throws out of the equation, the Falcons were able to convert third downs with passing plays on six out of 10 attempts. Ryan also wasn't scared to take deep shots, as he hit Julio Jones multiple times deep to challenge Patrick Peterson.
Ryan could have been a little bit sharper in the red zone to help score a couple of more touchdowns in the Cardinals game. The Falcons went just 1-of-5 due to some poor throws that led to drops in the red zone. If Ryan leads his receivers on two of the red-zone drops better, Atlanta wins this one in a blowout.
Grade: B
Running Backs and Fullbacks
2 of 10
Atlanta's running backs played excellent football Sunday. In blitz pickup, they were able to help Matt Ryan stay upright and look like a good quarterback. They also were able to slip out and catch a couple of passes short to help move the chains when it was needed.
Steven Jackson played his best game as a Falcon against the Arizona Cardinals. After they hadn't given up a 100-yard rusher for the season, Jackson was able to gain 101 yards on his 18 carries. Most of that came on a 55-yard run early in the game.
Throughout the game, a good mix of Jacquizz Rodgers and Devonta Freeman worked out well as all-purpose backs. The Falcons were able to take advantage of having a top-level blocking fullback in Patrick DiMarco with their 30 designed runs to the tailbacks gaining 134 yards—a 4.47 yard-per-carry average.
Grade: B
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
Of the 11 incomplete passes that the Falcons had against the Cardinals, just one was an interception, three more were deflected by defenders and there were another pair of thrown-away passes. So out of 34 balls that were catchable by receivers, Atlanta caught 30 of them.
They dropped just two of them, but both drops were in the end zone. Harry Douglas and Julio Jones played out of their minds Sunday combining for 19 catches, 305 yards and a touchdown. Add in some crucial catches on third down by Douglas, Levine Toilolo and Devin Hester and Atlanta had it's best receiver day on the year.
Even as run-blockers, the Falcons receivers did an excellent job. When the backs got to the second level, they were able to at least gain some extra yardage as the receivers were willing blockers. If the Falcons want to win out, the receivers need to duplicate this effort for the rest of the season.
Grade: A
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Offensive Linemen
4 of 10
Atlanta averaged 4.2 yards per carry because the offensive line regained some of the toughness and grit it lost. It was able to create some lanes for Steven Jackson when the game was on the line and opened a huge hole on his 55-yard gain.
However, on some crucial 3rd-and-1 plays, Jackson was unable to gain the needed yard, because he was hit behind the line. If the Falcons can improve their run blocking just a little bit more than it has been, they could have a shot at running the table.
As pass protectors, the line played almost a perfect game. Matt Ryan wasn't hurried often and was hit just three times all game. On the lone sack, it was an excellent play by Alex Okafor and Lorenzo Alexander on the first-and-second-year offensive tackles Jake Matthews and Ryan Schraeder.
Grade: B
Defensive Linemen and Edge Players
5 of 10
Atlanta wouldn't have won the game without creating an interior pass rush. By forcing the Cardinals to account for Corey Peters, Jonathan Babineaux and Ra'Shede Hageman inside, Atlanta was able to drop Drew Stanton when it went for its blitzing schemes.
Atlanta was also able to win the game with excellent run defense up front. On the 10 designed runs by the Cardinals, Atlanta held them to just 28 yards. That 2.8 yard-per-carry average is a big reason why the Falcons won against the Cardinals.
As far as the edge players are concerned, the rotation of Osi Umenyiora, Stansly Maponga, Kroy Biermann and Jonathan Massaquoi was extremely effective. Despite not getting a single sack, it continually provided pressure and hit Stanton behind the line.
Grade: A
Linebackers
6 of 10
Paul Worrilow continues to lead the Falcons in tackles. Prince Shembo is starting to come on, too. Atlanta's linebackers got tackles Sunday closer to the line, as the Cardinals' run game was held to just 35 yards on 11 carries. Take out the Drew Stanton scramble and it averaged just 2.8 yards on 10 designed run plays.
On blitzes, the Falcons may not have gotten any sacks or hits from their linebackers on the quarterback, but they were able to force Stanton from the pocket and make some poor throws. They also hurried him into some screen passes on interior blitzes from the A-gaps that gained few yards.
As coverage linebackers, the Cardinals were only able to take advantage of Worrilow or Shembo when they were matched up with wide receivers late in the game. Outside of a long throw to John Carlson, the linebackers allowed just 38 yards on five throws to tight ends or running backs.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
The biggest strength of the Falcons defense is the secondary. Sure, it allowed 294 yards through the air, but it was on 39 passes. When the Falcons needed to have a big play on third downs, they were able to force poor throws with blitzes from the secondary.
Atlanta allowed one third down to be converted all day. A big reason for that was how the Falcons continually tipped the ball at the line, at the receiver or forced poor throws with good coverage. Add in the two interceptions, a forced fumble and fumble recovery and the secondary played a monster game.
Even when you include the run defense, Atlanta allowed three runs of seven yards, as the only plays that made it to the third level. No runs over seven yards shows a defense that's getting good tackling from its secondary.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Matt Bryant is worth every penny the Falcons pay him and then some. He's a stone-cold field-goal kicker who hit all five of his shots right down the middle. He was equally effective on his extra points, and Atlanta reaped the benefits of his 17 points scored.
Matt Bosher had excellent punts to help establish field position for the Falcons defense. After his three punts, the Cardinals took over on average at their own 18-yard line. On kickoffs, he booted the ball through the end zone on all but one of them. On that one, the unit stuffed Arizona at its own 18.
As a returner, Devin Hester had an excellent game. Atlanta started around its own 35-yard line on average because of a combination of his punt and kick returns and the defense forcing turnovers. Hester's 30-yard kick-return average and 34-yard punt-return average didn't hurt, though.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
As a whole, the Falcons looked like a well-coached, extremely motivated team that was fighting for a division title. They need to continue to play like they did against the Cardinals every week, and Mike Smith is part of it. His time management was effective, but he did leave a challenge out there on the field.
On offense, the Falcons had over 500 yards of offense—the most rushing yards they have had all season—and a passing attack that gained over 350 yards. The only real question here was whether the Falcons left some points on the field with poor red-zone offense.
On defense, the Falcons couldn't have called a better game. They didn't go soft until right at the end of the game and were able to run exotic blitzes to force bad passes. They also played excellent coverage and forced turnovers due to excellent calls at the right times.
Grade: B
Overall Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| Quarterbacks | B |
| Running Backs and Fullbacks | B |
| Wide Receivers and Tight Ends | A |
| Offensive Linemen | B |
| Defensive Linemen and Edge Players | A |
| Linebackers | B |
| Secondary | A |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B |
| Overall | B |
Atlanta played its best game against a good opponent all season. However, the Falcons still felt like they left something out there on the field. Atlanta has an underrated group of players on defense, and it was nice to see the team win a game without two of its veteran leaders.
Atlanta needs to continue its excellent play next week against the Green Bay Packers. If the Falcons can somehow win that game, they will be 6-7 heading into a three-game stretch of two home games and a game in the Superdome.
All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required), ESPN.com, CFBStats.com or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of CBSSports.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.
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