Speedy Taylor Gabriel leads Falcons past Cardinals 38-19

The Cardinals had so many unforced errors Sunday that it became comical.

At best, the Cardinals may split their last six games and finish the year 7-8-1, which would be an utter disappointment after being 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl berth. The last four times the league’s top offense faced the top defense in yards per play, the top offense won the contest, including the most recent instance in Week 5, when the Falcons beat the Broncos. Devonta Freeman made the Arizona team’s glaring weakness evident as he racked up two touchdowns. Peterson limited arguably the best receiver in the National Football League but the Falcons still amassed 38 points. Atlanta – Questionable: P Matt Bosher (right hamstring), CB Desmond Trufant (shoulder).

Cardinals running back David Johnson is over 100 yards from scrimmage in the second quarter of today’s game at Atlanta, and if it feels like Johnson does that every week it’s because he does. Tennessee (6-6) almost blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter but stopped the Bears inside the 10-yard line in the game’s final minute. That’s why they can shred a defense for an easy 75-yard drive to start, and have just 109 yards total in the second half.

As for the Falcons, they still have last season on their mind. The Cardinals can work on re-establishing balanced offensive attack. None of the solutions seem to be working for Arizona.

If things don’t pick up soon, Bruce Arians might be headed toward his first losing season as a head coach.

“We have a defense that was ranked No. 1”, Arians said, “but we are not playing like a No. 1 defense”. A quarterback is never going to get hit in preseason really. It was the fourth time this season he’s been held under 50 yards-a odd bit of inconsistency that has vexed some fantasy owners despite Jones’ stellar overall numbers. That is not the situation.

Offensively, Arizona’s led by veteran quarterback Carson Palmer, who is in his fourth season with the Cardinals.

This upcoming game against the Cardinals is fairly similar, but it is a mirror image. But slowly, it began to roll over. There were also a pair of holding calls on the offensive line, plus an intentional grounding call on Palmer.

The Cardinals have now dropped eight straight in Atlanta.

Ryan completed 26 passes on 34 attempts for 269 yards. Floyd’s season will go down as one of the greatest mysteries in recent Cardinals history. The Falcons are now just a game ahead of the Bucs in the NFC South. Atlanta are obviously in the more comfortable position, lying first in their division, an easier schedule coming up, and a 6-4 record in their back pocket. But the offense and special teams haven’t been able to find any either. Live streaming is available via NFL Game Pass or NFL Sunday Ticket MAX (subscription required).

Finally, with one last chance to get back in the game, the Cardinals went on fourth-and-7 at the Atlanta 40 early in the fourth quarter.