The Atlanta Falcons have had a disastrous season. They had so many offensive weapons in place to make a run at the Super Bowl and instead, they have imploded. They\u2019re coming off a particularly embarrassing loss as they gave up 53 points to the Houston Texans. They\u2019re on the road at Arizona this week and if they can\u2019t beat the one-win Cardinals, it might be the end of the Dan Quinn era in Atlanta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Falcons are desperate and have to win this game to save coach Quinn\u2019s job. Losing by 21 points is bad, but losing to the Houston Texans \u2013 a possible playoff team with an elite quarterback, Deshaun Watson \u2013 is not the worst thing. Losing to the Arizona Cardinals, a team which has only one win with a rookie quarterback and head coach would be another punch in the gut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Falcons might miss the playoffs, but if they miss the playoffs with a 9-7 record as opposed to a 7-9 record, Quinn might be able to get one more season on the job. The way things are going now, though, it\u2019s unclear who the Falcons can beat. They haven\u2019t been competitive in each of the last three games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The good news is that the Falcons are playing the Cardinals. Arizona barely won at Cincinnati last week (26-23) as they\u2019ve struggled on both sides of the ball. The Cardinals are without top corners Patrick Peterson and Robert Alford, so Atlanta should have edges in the passing game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though Atlanta badly needs to win this game, the fact that a team faces an urgent moment is hardly a guarantee that it will play well. Getting shredded for 53 points by the Houston Texans is reflective of a team which has mostly given up. Keep in mind that Atlanta really needed to win that game to stay around .500 and the importance of the situation did not translate into a good effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arizona is a one-win team but take a look at who they\u2019ve played. They tied the Detroit Lions, who are apparently a decent squad. They lost a close game at Baltimore, lost big to Carolina and Seattle but they\u2019re both good teams, and then they won at Cincinnati. They\u2019ve played a tough schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atlanta has absolutely no running (28th in the NFL with 67.6 rushing yards per game) and that makes the Cardinals defensive job that much easier. On offense, Arizona should do well against a defense that\u2019s been picked apart by Deshaun Watson, Marcus Mariota and Jacoby Brissett over the last three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Falcons\u2019 defensive performance and their overall performance against Houston suggest that this will be a shootout with Matt Ryan and Kyler Murray lighting up the scoreboard. The Cardinals defense is vulnerable to the pass while the Falcons defense is vulnerable everywhere. This could be a fun game, even though neither team is likely to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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