The Atlanta Falcons got off to a terrible start in today’s NFC Divisional Playoff with the Arizona Cardinals. But have managed to keep the game within reach, trailing 7-0 after one quarter of play.
It was clear that the Cardinals came out to test the Atlanta secondary right away. But Domonique Foxworth and Chris Houston were up to the task on the first two plays, as the Cards threw the deep ball on both to no avail.
Atlanta went on to force a three-and-out, and appeared to have momentum after Harry Douglas took the ensuing punt back into Arizona territory.
That momentum quickly vanished.
On third-and-five from the ‘Zona 43-yard line, Matt Ryan showed off his youth, making an ill-advised throw on third-and-five as he tried to force a throw to Roddy White. The result was an easy interception for Ralph Brown, who ready the pass and stepped in front of the Falcons leading receiver for the pick.
With the pass game not working on the first drive, Arizona mixed things up a little bit. They ran the ball with Edgerrin James on three consecutive plays that netted 21 yards to get into Falcons territory.
Then came the big play. The Cards fooled everyone with a flea flicker that resulted in a 49-yard touchdown from Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald on a perfectly thrown ball.
MY THOUGHTS
We’ve talked all year about how this is an incredibly young football team, and they look like one right now. Matt Ryan’s first interception was a throw he shouldn’t have even thought about making.
Meanwhile, Michael Turner hasn’t been able to do much of anything. If something doesn’t change on the ground, there is simply no way this team can move the football consistently. That does seem to have changed a bit on this last drive that will continue into the second quarter, as both he and Jerious Norwood have finally had some room to run.
The coverage on the Fitzgerald touchdown didn’t look that bad. But Chris Houston got caught peaking into the backfield for a split second, and Kurt Warner made him pay with an absolutely fantastic throw, dropping the ball just in between Houston and Lawyer Milloy in the end zone.
Still the matchup between Houston and Fitzgerald is a gross mismatch. Houston has struggled in man coverage all year long. That’s not a good sign when you’ve got a talent like Fitz lined up across the way. Fitzgerald also burned the 2008 second round pick for a 30-yard reception in the quarter.
What in the world happened to the Cardinals of old? All of a sudden they have decided to run the football with James and it has worked wonders. They’ve also dominated up front, an area where the Falcons have been particularly strong (and Arizona not so much) in recent weeks.
The Falcons are going to have to weather the storm here in the second. The crowd is rocking and Arizona look confident and poised. We’ll get a good sense of what this team is made of over the next 15 minutes.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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