Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals: 3 X-Factors for the Falcons

The Falcons face a huge battle this Sunday in a game in which they yearn to wipe off the grimy grit of the Eagles loss in their pursuit to take reign over the NFC South for the first time since 2012.

We all remember 2014’s game which was preceded by an overly confident Patrick Peterson claiming that he won most of the one-on-one match-ups against Jones in college. Jones played for Alabama, and Peterson played for LSU. While Jones might have thought otherwise, he saved his rebuttal for the field. All I can say to Patrick Peterson is, “big mistake.” Jones totally obliterated Peterson and made him eat his words, as he made Peterson look like a high school cornerback. Jones went on to receive for a then career-high 189 yards. I’m sure Peterson will be much more careful with his words this week.

This upcoming game against the Cardinals is fairly similar, but it is a mirror image. The current Falcons mirror the 2014 Cardinals who finished the season 11-5 and the current cardinals mirror the 2014 Falcons who finished 6-10. The contest again features two teams headed in opposite direction, yet both athirst with something to prove. The Falcons wan’t to still prove that they won’t falter after adversity like last year, and the Cardinals want to prove that they are better than their record presumes them to be. It’s a clash of the birds. The Falcons are well-rested and healthy after the bye and are looking to spur a late-season run.  Here are three X-Factors for the Falcons this Sunday in their quest for a division title and post-season run.