Mattie T’s In-game blog (Wild Card Weekend: Falcons vs. Cardinals)

Good afternoon all,

The dome is closed & there’s a lot of red in the crowd…that means it’s time for Wild Card Weekend to start!!!

Arizona won the toss, we are ready to go!!!

1st quarter:

Falcons are able to put pressure on Kurt Warner early on, as Atlanta’s defense is able to force a 3 & out.

Nice punt return by Harry Douglas, as Atlanta will start offensively inside of Arizona territory.

Matt Ryan knows the difference now between the regular season & the playoffs. Ryan’s first regular-season pass was a touchdown. Ryan’s first postseason pass was an interception.

Edgerrin James looks good early, as that time off has given him fresh legs. Arizona is definitely looking to question Atlanta’s shaky run defense.

FLEA FLICKER!!!! Great pass by Warner, as he takes the return toss from Edgerrin James and throws a 42-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, who made a GREAT catch inbetween two Falcons defenders. Arizona cashes in off the Matt Ryan interception & leads 7-0.

Nice kickoff by Neil Rackers, as the speedy Jerious Norwood is forced to down it in the endzone.

Early on, it’s clear to see that this crowd noise is pumping some life into Arizona’s defense. Good job so far shutting down Michael Turner & just forced Atlanta into a false start.

Looks like Arizona got away with going offsides, but it doesn’t make much of a difference as Matt Ryan is sacked on 3rd down.

Warner to Fitzgerald again! I might be saying that an awful lot today.

Boldin with a 3rd down drop that would’ve forced Ken Whisenhunt to  make an interesting decision had that ball been caught.

Great special teams coverage by Arizona, as Atlanta will start their 3rd possession of the game from their own 7-yard line.

Ryan sacked again on 3rd down. Falcons have been unable to convert most of their 3rd down conversions so far, which is surprising against a suspect Cardinals defense. Arizona will have great field position once again.

Cardinals are unable to take advantage though, as Keith Brooking just misses picking off Kurt Warner on 3rd down.

Again, great special teams coverage as Michael Adams nails Harry Douglas. Atlanta will start offensively again inside of their own 10-yard line.

The 1st quarter has come to an end with Arizona leading 7-0. Key Stat so far: The Cardinals have 111 total net yards to the Falcons’ 36 net yards.

2nd quarter:

Turner is finally able to break off a big play, as his 13-yard run gives Atlanta a 1st down.

Atlanta is finally starting to move the ball well now, as they are now inside Arizona’s 35-yard line.

Big hit by Roderick Hood on Harry Douglas!! It looked like a wide receiver screen pass, but Hood read it all the way.

3rd string tight end Marcus Pollard coughs it up, but Jerious Norwood is able to fall on the football to keep Atlanta’s drive going.

Michael Jenkins’ 3rd down catch is just short of a 1st down. Mike Smith is faced with his first big decision of the game as Atlanta needs a short run to make it 1st & goal.

Smith decidees to give Jason Elam a 30-yard field goal try, which is good. Arizona now leads 7-3 with 10 minutes left.

Anquan Boldin makes a catch towards the sideline and dusts Lawyer Milloy on his way to a 71-yard touchdown. Kurt Warner is having himself a big 1st half so far & now it looks like Mike Smith should’ve went for that 1st down on 4th & 1 after all. 14-3 Cardinals with 8:58 left until halftime.

Looks like Boldin got hurt on the play, as he was seen holding his hamstring after he ran in for the score. It’s later reported that Boldin is simply experiencing cramps, so he should be fine for the remainder of the game.

A wide-open Roddy White drops a perfect pass from Matt Ryan that would’ve put the Falcons deep into Arizona territory. Definitely blew a chance for Atlanta to get right back into this game.

The Falcons are now starting to pass more, as Michael Turner has been very ineffective in the game so far.

Atlanta is now into the red zone, so let’s see if they can get their 1st touchdown of the day to put themselves back into this game.

Michael Turner goes into the end zone untouched for a 7-yard score. Great drive by the Falcons, as they now trail 14-10 with 2:55 left until hafltime.

Warner’s pass is tipped & intercepted by Chevis Jackson, which now turns the momentum in Atlanta’s favor.

Matt Ryan misses Roddy White on a play-action pass that looked to be the go-ahead touchdown.

Nice catch by White, as Atlanta has 1st & goal with under 30 seconds to go until halftime. Clock management will be key here for the Falcons.

Ryan completes the drive on another play-action pass, but this time hits Justin Peele on a 2-yard touchdown, which now gives Atlanta their first lead of the day at 17-14.

Key Stat at halftime: Arizona is just 1-5 on 3rd down conversions & only had the football for under 9 minutes. This will definitely have to improve in the 2nd half if they want to win this game & move on into the Divisional Round.

3rd quarter:

2nd half starts with some fireworks, as Matt Ryan coughs it up on a fumble & is recovered by Antrell Rolle for a 27-yard go-ahead touchdown. Arizona now leads 21-17 and this is now looking to be an exciting 2nd half shootout.

Cardinals call a timeout right before Michael Turner breaks off what would’ve been a HUGE gain. Nice timing by Ken Whisenhunt!

Atlanta’s drive is starting to get very ugly, as it has been highlighted by a holding penalty & and a false start. Now they face 3rd & 25 from their own 5 yard line which turns out to be an incomplete pass.

Steve Breaston is hit before he had a chance to field the ball on a punt return, so it looks like Atlanta is starting to kill themselves with self-inflicted penalties. Mark on 15 yards, which means that Arizona will start their 1st drive of the second half inside Falcons territory.

Chris Houston looks like he got away with a holding penalty, which would’ve given Arizona a 1st down.

Rackers’ FG try hooks wide left, as his 51-yarder is no good.

Atlanta is unable to take advantage, as Arizona’s defense forces a 3 & out.

Arizona is going back to the run more, which did have some success in the first half. So far, Edgerrin James has 46 yards on 9 carries, which is good for 5.1 yards per carry.

Kurt Warner still has some life in those 37-year old legs of his, as he scrambles 5 yards for an Arizona 1st down.

Impressive drive by the Cardinals so far, as they have taken it inside the Falcons’ 30-yard line without Anquan Boldin.

1st & goal now for Arizona, as Tim Hightower darts left & scores untouched on a 4-yard score. Cardinals now lead 28-17, which ties their biggest lead of the game. Atlanta is going to have to execute better offensively & play better defense in order to comeback & win this game.

Another interception by Ryan, as Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie outjumped Roddy White & won the battle. If Arizona converts this into a touchdown, i think this game is over.

They don’t, which still gives Atlanta hope. Under a minute to go now in the 3rd quarter as Matt Ryan will get another shot to make this a one-possession game.

3rd quarter is now complete, with Arizona leading 28-17.

4th quarter:

It looks like Matt Ryan is starting to get rattled now, as he is overthrowing his receivers. I still think that 2nd quarter drop by Roddy White is the game-turning play so far.

Arizona once again gets great starting field position, which can be credited to the defense being able to slow down both Michael Turner & Jerious Norwood.

Another dumb penalty by Atlanta, as a facemask now puts Arizona into opponent territory. Mistakes & turnovers have definitely hurt the Falcons today.

Great Arizona punt pins Atlanta at their own 1-yard line. The Cardinals have dominated this second half & a critical Falcons’ turnover here would definitely slim their chances of a comeback win.

The blown call against Atlanta earlier in the game comes back to haunt them, as Matt Ryan is sacked in the end zone for a safety. Arizona now leads 30-17 & has their biggest lead of the game.

Arizona is now looking to put together a long drive in hopes of knocking out Atlanta from any comeback hopes.

Falcons get the stop that they need, with about 8 minutes & change to go. Field goals won’t be needed here, as they will need two touchdowns for a comeback win.

Ryan has been unable to complete any deep passes today, as he just overthrew Harry Douglas downfield. Rough day for Atlanta’s offense, especially in the 2nd half.

With 7 minutes left & down by 2 scores, Atlanta is going for it on 4th down.

BIG 4th down conversion for the Falcons, as Jerious Norwood completes a 30 yard catch & run. Again, this must end in a touchdown as Atlanta needs 2 TD’s with the clock working against them.

Ryan gets the 5-yard touchdown pass to White, but 3 minutes elapsed between Norwood’s 1st down and the touchdown. This next drive by Arizona could very well decide who wins the game.

Nice catch in traffic by Larry Fitzgerald, as that grab puts him over 100 yards receiving for the day.

Another big completion by Warner as he hits Steve Breaston for a 25-yard gain. Atlanta now has to start using their timeouts in hopes to get the ball back for a possible game-winning drive.

Arizona’s reverse play turns into disaster as the Falcons blow it up near midfield for an 8-yard loss. Atlanta has just called their last timeout, as another Cardinals 1st down will end this game.

Another clutch play by Kurt Warner, as he hits Stephen Spach for a 23-yard gain & a 1st down. Atlanta is now out of timeouts, so Arizona can simply kneel down to end this game.

Postgame:

This was a great win for the Cardinals, who dominated the 2nd half without their Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin. Game ball goes to Arizona’s offensive line, who did not allow a single sack all game & kept John Abraham (3rd in NFL with 16.5 sacks) in check.

Matt Ryan had some good moments & some bad moments in his first NFL playoff start, but Michael Turner was a huge non-factor as he only rushed 18 times for 42 yards, which is a little over 2 yards per carry.

Great job shutting down Turner, but now Arizona is going to face another lethal running back next week. Question is, will it be Carolina’s 2-headed combo of DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart, or New York’s “Earth, Wind & Fire” trio of Brandon Jacobs/Derrick Ward/Ahmed Bradshaw?

Stay tuned folks! Congrats to Arizona on their first playoff home win in 61 years.