1 - Falcons wins against non-NFC South opponents after today's 29-18 victory over Arizona. The 5-7 Falcons are 4-0 against division foes with home wins over New Orleans and Tampa Bay and road wins over Carolina and Tampa Bay.*
1 - *Games it took Pro Bowl safety William Moore to re-assert his importance to this defense after returning to the field after missing eight games with a shoulder injury. With momentum turning Arizona's way in the second quarter as a long Cardinals' drive threatened to narrow the Falcons' 17-7 lead, William Moore stripped receiver Michael Floyd of the football while Desmond Trufant recovered the fumble. Moore also notched four tackles and helped Atlanta's defense, which held Arizona to just 329 yards on the afternoon, regain a little bit of swagger.
2 -Straight games Harry Douglas has had 100-plus yard receiving games against the Arizona Cardinals. Douglas caught 8 passes for 105 yards and converted several crucial third downs on the afternoon. During a 27-13 loss in Arizona last season, Douglas hauled in a career-high 12 catches for 121 yards against the Cardinals.
3 -Time outs the Falcons had remaining at the end of the first half. With the ball at their own 27-yard line and 2:42 remaining in the second quarter, Atlanta didn't use a single time out on their 12-play, 68-yard drive that ended in a 23-yard Matt Bryant field goal. Just prior to Bryant's attempt, Atlanta wasn't able to take another shot at the end zone as they faced a 3rd & 4 at the Arizona 5-yard line with just three ticks remaining in the half. Atlanta took a 10-point lead to the halftime locker room and didn't let Arizona get any closer after that.
**
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
3 - Points given up by the Falcons' defense in the game. While Arizona put 10 points on the scoreboard, seven of those came on an 88-yard pick-six thrown by Matt Ryan early in the second quarter.
4 -** Wins for the Falcons in the five games they've run for over 100 yards in a game this season. Atlanta rushed for 142 yards against the NFL's third-stingiest rush defense this afternoon.
5 -Field goals for Matt Bryant in the game, a career high for the 13-year NFL veteran. On the season, Bryant is 17 of 19 (89.5 percent) in field goals made, and he's converted his last 14 attempts.
7 - Times in franchise history the Falcons have posted at least 500 yards. Atlanta put up an even 500 yards on the visiting Cardinals during Sunday's 29-18 victory.
8 -Number of times the Falcons' defense hit Cardinals' quarterback Drew Stanton in the game. Though Atlanta didn't register a sack on the afternoon, they put plenty of pressure on Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton, who finished the game 24-39 for 294 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions.
9 -Penalties for the Falcons in the game, for 76 yards. Some of these ended Falcons' drives or extended Cardinals' drives, preventing a game that was relatively one-sided from getting completely out of hand. Conversely, Arizona was penalized only five times for 34 yards.
12 -Interceptions for the Falcons' defense in the last 6 games. It's the fourth straight game the Falcons have logged 2 or more interceptions.
17 -Unanswered points for the Falcons to start Sunday's game against the Cardinals. Arizona did not score a point until the 14:01 point in the 2nd Quarter when Arizona safety Rashad Johnson stepped in front of a Matt Ryan pass deep in Arizona territory and weaved his way 88 yards for a pick-six.
30 -Yards the Falcons were penalized after an apparent 60-yard punt return touchdown. The referees, however, called a facemask penalty on Hester, despite the replay looking like Cardinals' punter Drew Butler was actually guilty of grabbing Hester's facemask. A 15-yard penalty unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was tacked on to the facemask penalty when the Falcons' bench emptied out onto the field to protest the apparent injustice. In the end, the turn of events cost Atlanta 4 points, as they eventually settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown, extending their first-quarter lead to 10-0.
34 - Career 100-yard games for Steven Jackson after today's 101-yard performance.
35 -Regular season games in a row the Cardinals had not relinquished a 100-plus yard rusher until this afternoon against the Falcons. Steven Jackson rushed for 101 yards in the 29-18 Atlanta victory.
55 -Yards gained on an opening-drive rush by Steven Jackson, which set up the one-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Levine Toilolo. The 55-yard run was the longest for Jackson in his two years in a Falcons' uniform. His previous high came in the 2013 season opener - his first game as a Falcon - when he ripped off a 50-yard at New Orleans.
101 -Yards gained by Jackson on the afternoon, on 18 carries. The 100-plus yard performance was Jackson's first in a Falcons' uniform and came with an impressive 5.6 yards per carry.
142 -Rushing yards for the Falcons against the NFL's third-ranked rushing defense. The Cardinals entered today's contest giving up just 84.5 yards per game and allowing just 3.59 yards per carry (ranked 5th in NFL). Atlanta rushed the ball 34 times for 142 yards for a 4.2 yards per carry average.
1,169 -Yards on the season for Falcons WR Julio Jones, who has eclipsed that mark for the 2nd time in his four NFL seasons. Jones remains in the top ten in the NFL in both catches (82) and receiving yards (1,169).
