A Week 17 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons began with a couple of extremely lengthy drives.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!First, it was David Blough and the Cardinals with a 13-play, 55-yard drive that saw a steady mix of James Conner on the ground and Trey McBride in the air.
However, despite the long drive, Arizona had to settle for a field goal due to a holding penalty that set them back 10 yards.
Matt Prater drilled a 38-yard field goal for the lone points in the first half.
Atlanta then answered right back with an even longer drive of their own. In search of his first career NFL win, Desmond Ridder led his offense down the field with a drive that went over nine minutes and consisted of 16 plays.Â
RB Tyler Allgeier capped it off with a 5-yard rush to give the Falcons a lead at the beginning of the second quarter.
The Cardinals then took back the lead after the Falcons fumbled on the first play of their second drive. Arizona took over with the ball inside their own red zone. It was rookie Trey McBride who brought in a 4-yard touchdown reception, the first of his career.
But Arizona then followed this up with a mistake of their own, as Andy Lee had his punt blocked. Atlanta wasted no time taking advantage of the special teams play, Cordarrelle Patterson ran the first play of the drive in for a touchdown from five yards out.
The first half came to a close with a Matt Prater 36-yard field goal, leaving the Cardinals trailing the Falcons 14-13.
Stats and notes
- Rookie TE recorded his first career touchdown
- David Blough in his first start since 2019: 15/20, 117 yards, 1 TD
- James Conner: 10 rushes, 48 yards
- Desmond Ridder in search of his first career win: 12/14 97 yards
- Tyler Allgeier: 8 rushes, 41 yards, 1 TD
- Both teams with 59 total rushing yards
- Cardinals’ Robbie Anderson and Isaiah Simmons questionable to return
