Brad Cesmat
Special teams weren’t special, the defense wilted under the pressure of the Atlanta offense, and Carson Palmer got smoked much of the afternoon. When it was all said and done, the Cardinals lost 38-19 to the Falcons. The game was a microcosm of what has gone wrong here in 2016. A season ago, the Cardinals were able to overcome deficits and made plays on defense. None of that has happened for head coach Bruce Arians this season.
A look inside the number and plays that tell you all you need to know about Sundays loss.
-Atlanta rolled up 28 first downs and had the ball for 9 more minutes than the Cardinals
-The vaunted Cardinal defense gave up 38 points. 6 Atlanta receivers had catches of 12 yards or more
-The 4-6-1 record doesn’t mathematically eliminate them from the playoffs, but certainly makes it improbable for the Cardinals to make the postseason in the tough and talented NFC
-Falcons have won 8 straight over the Cardinals in Atlanta
-Carson Palmer was hit often through the day. The stats will show that he was only sacked twice, but that doesn’t include the number of times the Cardinal QB was hit.
-The Falcons Vic Beasley had 8 quarterback pressures in the game
-8 penalties on the Cardinals
-Punter Drew Butler was once again unimpressive. He failed to turn the field on more than one possession
Next week the Cardinals are home against the Washington Redskins
