Falcons head coach Mike Smith evaluating Sunday's win: "I thought we had a very good performance in all three phases of the game. There were some excellent plays made, and when you make those types of plays you're going to get the outcome that you want. I think we did an outstanding job in our preparation. I thought our coaching staff was spot on in putting the game plan together. Defensively, I thought we were flying around (and) we took the ball away on most opportunities that we had. It was good to get the running game going. That's a very good football team that we played, and I thought that we matched them for their level of physicality and intensity. We're going to enjoy this for about four or five hours, and then move on to the Green Bay Packers."
Smith on the Devin Hester penalty that negated a touchdown return: "Please don't make me answer that question. There was a penalty, and we can't have a penalty on our sideline. I asked the official what transpired. You guys saw the replay, just like I saw the replay. The flag came out, and in the NFL that's a 15-yard penalty."
Falcons QB Matt Ryan on Patrick Peterson's comments about Julio Jones earlier in the week: "It's one of those things; it's part of the game. He's (Patrick Peterson) a very good player, but we think Julio is a really good player, too. He had a great game. He went out and competed really hard and made some really good catches for us. I thought he stepped up when we needed him to."
Falcons WR Julio Jones on whether he said anything back to Patrick Peterson in the game: "No. I don't talk at all. The guys that have played against me know I don't talk. I just go out there and play."
Falcons RB Steven Jackson on his first 100-yard game as an Atlanta Falcon: "Just another day at the office. It's something that I wanted, but they didn't bring me here for one. I need to be more consistent, and that's what I strive to do. We're going into the month of December where the games are going to be more challenging. We've set the bar now and now we need to do it consistently."
It's a battle of the birds at the Georgia Dome as the Atlanta Falcons take on the Arizona Cardinals. Check out these photos of gameday.
CB Desmond Trufant and LB Paul Worrilow tackle Cardinals RB Andre Ellington
TE Levine Toilolo celebrates his touchdown
WR Julio Jones makes a catch during the second half.
CB Josh Wilson and S William Moore celebrate a play in the second half.
QB Matt Ryan drops back for a pass.
S William Moore attempts to block a pass from Cardinals QB Drew Stanton.
FS Dwight Lowery runs after intercepting a throw by Cardinals QB Drew Stanton.
LB Paul Worrilow
DT Jonathan Babineaux tackles Cardinals QB Drew Stanton.
RB Devonta Freeman avoids a tackle by leaping over Cardinals CB Jerraud Powers during the first half of play.
WR Julio Jones runs along the sidelines after a reception during the second half.
K Matt Bryant
S William Moore
WR Harry Douglas after making a catch.
TE Levine Toilolo makes a catch for a touchdown.
RB Steven Jackson runs the ball during the first half of play.
FS Dwight Lowery runs along the sidelines after an interception.
DE Malliciah Goodman in coverage.
WR Harry Douglas runs the ball after a reception.
WR Devin Hester returns a kick during the first half of play.
DT Jonathan Babineaux puts pressure on Cardinals QB Drew Stanton.
WR Julio Jones runs the ball after completing a catch in the first half of play.
RB Steven Jackson runs the ball during the first half of play.
K Matt Bryant lines up for a field goal attempt.
FS Dwight Lowery after making an interception.
TE Levine Toilolo matches up with Cardinals LB Alex Okafor
WR Devin Hester makes his way onto the field for pregame warm-ups.
RB Devonta Freeman runs the ball down the field.
FS Dwight Lowery runs after intercepting the ball.
WR Eric Weems in the huddle.
K Matt Bryant
CB Desmond Trufant intercepts a Cardinals pass.
QB Matt Ryan
WR Devin Hester
WR Julio Jones makes a catch.
WR Devin Hester runs the ball after a catch.
LB Paul Worrilow makes his entrance onto the field during introductions.
An Atlanta Falcons junior cheerleader performing at halftime.
LB Nate Stupar
RB Devonta Freeman
DE Kroy Biermann runs onto the field.
DE Jonathan Massaquoi makes his way onto the field for pregame warm-ups.
TE Levine Toilolo celebrates with TE Bear Pascoe
QB Matt Ryan
WR Drew Davis pumps up the huddle.
TE Levine Toilolo puts the Falcons on the board to close out the first drive
WR Devin Hester goes up against Cardinals P Drew Butler
LBs Paul Worrilow and Nate Stupar make their way onto the field for pregame warm-ups.
WR Eric Weems arrives at the Georgia Dome
QB Matt Ryan
The Falcons' defense takes down Cardinals RB Andre Ellington
WR Julio Jones
WR Harry Douglas runs the ball after completing a catch in the first half of play.
DE Tyson Jackson makes his entrance onto the field during introductions.
CB Robert McClain
RB Steven Jackson
T Jake Matthews arrives at the Georgia Dome
WR Devin Hester arrives at the Georgia Dome
S Dwight Lowery
DE Jonathan Massaquoi
RB Jacquizz Rodgers runs the ball past Cardinals LB Kevin Minter.
TE Levine Toilolo
WR Julio Jones
The theme for Sunday's game is "Play 60" to remind kids to get out and play.
RB Steven Jackson
DE Kroy Biermann
WR Julio Jones speaks with a referee during a break in play.
QB Matt Ryan prepares to hike the ball during the second half of play.
S Kemal Ishmael tackles WR Jaron Brown
CB Josh Wilson returns an interception during the second half of play.
WR Harry Douglas
RB Steven Jackson
Falcons WR Devin Hester on the punt return that was called back: "It was the wrong call on their part, but it is too late to do anything about it."
Falcons K Matt Bryant on setting a career high for points in a single game: "In a perfect world, you hope you're kicking 17 extra points, but if they count on you to get a field goal, I just go out there and do it. Everything keeps working out, so I just go out there and keep on banging them through."
Falcons S William Moore describing his first game back since an injury in Week 4: "I felt good, and it was great to be back playing with the team. This is my job, and I love playing and competing, and I was itching to get back on the field."
Falcons CB Desmond Trufant on the team's strong effort: "We just knew that this was a big game. It was pretty much a must win to stay in the hunt, and we just knew we had to perform. It was a good team, so we could not be out there half-stepping, so we showed up and we have to keep it going."
Falcons DT Corey Peters on keys to success in Week 13: "First of all, we had a great week of practice. We were also very focused on the task at hand in terms of finding a way to win the game. I felt like the defense came out with a lot of intensity in this game. We had some early success by forcing turnovers, and I think that helped build confidence not only for the defense but the entire team."
