NFL: Falcons-Cardinals Stats ‘N’ Facts

Atlanta Falcons-Arizona Cardinals

CARDINALS

The NFC West Champion Cardinals host their first playoff
game since 1947 this week as the Atlanta Falcons visit
Arizona for an NFC West Wild Card Game. The team’s face
off on Saturday at 2:30 PM (MST) on NBC.
For the Cardinals, who finished the regular season at 9-7, it is
their first playoff appearance since 1998 and second since the
franchise moved to Arizona in 1988. The Cardinals won the
NFC West behind a perfect 6-0 division record. The only other
time the Cards went undefeated in their division was in 1968
when they went 5-0-1 in their first season in the Century
Division (with the Browns, Giants and Steelers).
The Cardinals last appearance in the playoffs was as a Wild
Card team in 1998 when they beat the Cowboys 20-7 in
Dallas before losing to Minnesota 41-21 during the divisional
weekend.
The Cardinals will face the Falcons who, at 11-5 under first year
head coach Mike Smith, have made an impressive
turnaround from last season’s 4-12 finish. The Falcons are led
by rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and the NFL’s second rated
rushing attack fueled by dynamic running backs Michael
Turner and Jerious Norwood. The Falcons enter the game as
a Wild Card coming from the NFC South.
The Cardinals and Falcons are two of the five 2008 NFC
playoff teams that did not reach the postseason in 2007. The
winner of this week’s matchup will move on to the Divisional
Playoffs next weekend where they will face the winner of the
Minnesota-Philadelphia matchup taking place this Sunday.

CARDINALS…. CATEGORY…. FALCONS

9-7… Record… 11-5
427… Points Scored… 391
426… Points Allowed… 325
51… Touchdowns Scored… 43
52… Touchdowns Allowed… 38
14… Rushing TDs… 23
31… Passing TDs… 16
6… Return TDs… 4
13… Rushing TDs Allowed… 17
36… Passing TDs Allowed… 20
3… Return TDs Allowed… 1
28/201… Sacked/Yards Lost… 17/104
27/15… Fumbles/Lost… 18/10
15… Had Intercepted… 11
25/28… Field Goals Made/Attempted… 29/31
365.8… Total Yards Per Game… 361.2
331.5… Opp. Total Yards Per Game… 347.9
73.6… Rushing Yards Per Game… 152.7
110.3… Opp. Rushing Yards Per Game… 127.5
292.1… Passing Yards Per Game… 208.5
221.3… Opp. Passing Yards Per Game… 220.4
Even… Turnover Ratio… -3
30:09… Average Time of Possession… 30:49
4/32/2… NFL Rank-Total Offense/Run/Pass… 6/2/14
19/16/22… NFL Rank-Total Defense/Run/Pass… 24/25/21
1/6… 2-Point Conversions… 1/1

NEW ENTRIES

The Cardinals are one of seven teams that qualified for the
2008 playoffs that did not qualify last season. Among the
other teams that sat out last season’s playoffs are: Atlanta,
Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota and Philadelphia.
There are seven teams that made the playoffs last season
that will not return in the 2008 postseason. That list includes:
Dallas, Green Bay, Jacksonville, New England, Seattle,
Tampa Bay and Washington.
In the NFC, five of the six playoff teams—Arizona, Atlanta,
Carolina, Minnesota and Philadelphia—were not in the
postseason in 2007. Only the NY Giants, last year’s Super
Bowl champs, are returning to the playoffs this season.

FALCONS

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against the St. Louis Rams in the regular season finale at the Georgia Dome. The honor is the third for Turner this season (Week 1 and Week 3) as he becomes the first player in franchise history to earn conference offensive player of the week accolades on three different occasions in one season.

In Atlanta’s 31-27 victory over the Rams in Week 17, Turner recorded the second-highest single-game rushing total in team history with 208 yards on 25 carries while contributing with one touchdown and a season-long run of 70 yards. His 70-yard scamper also marked the fourth-longest run in club annals.

On two other occasions this season, Turner was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. The first came after a Week 1 meeting against Detroit where he set a new franchise single-game rushing record with 220 yards on 22 carries. He also earned the honor after a Week 3 performance where he totaled 104 rushing yards and three touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs.

This season, the Falcons also witnessed quarterback Matt Ryan merit NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors (Week 9) and NFC Rookie of the Month accolades (October) for the first time in team history. Wide receiver Harry Douglas was also the recipient of the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award (Week 12) after returning a punt for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers.

Atlanta will battle the NFC West Division champion Arizona Cardinals in a NFC Wild Card meeting on Saturday, January 3, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on NBC.

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