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

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Sep 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant (21) celebrates his interception from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (not pictured) in the first quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Turnover Margin

As you know, turnover’s can significantly define a game. Turnover’s alter the mindset of a team and can either stimulate or falter momentum. The closer the game is, the more detrimental a turnover can be. Multiple Turnover’s would be substantially hindering to the Falcon’s this Sunday against a Cardinals defense that is known to be turnover hungry and has had success against us in this area over the years.

Nov 30, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Arizona Cardinals free safety Rashad Johnson (26) returns an interception for a touchdown as he runs past Atlanta Falcons running back Jacquizz Rodgers (32) in the second quarter of their game at the at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

In 2012, Matt Ryan threw 5 interceptions to the Card’s defense in a game in which he made me wonder if he got the the falcon on Atlanta’s helmet and the cardinal on Arizona’s helmet mixed up. The next year, Ryan threw 4 interceptions in a game that seemed as if he still had bird identification problems, maybe because they both were red, I don’t know. In 2014’s game, Ryan threw yet another interception but as you can see, the trend was moving in the right direction. I then realized that maybe it wasn’t that Matt Ryan enjoyed throwing the ball to the Cardinals secondary but that maybe the Card’s defense was just that ball-hawking, just that good.

Despite the Card’s previous success against him, I’ll just say that 2016 Matt Ryan is not the same as 2012’s, 2013’s, or 2014’s version so I wouldn’t expect this year to be like the others. He is much improved and much more elite while the Card’s secondary hasn’t been as dominant as they were then. I’m much more confident now in Ryan and his ability to protect the ball as he only has 5 interceptions on the season. However, we still can’t ignore the Cardinal’s potential on that side of the ball.

On the other hand, Carson Palmer has 10 interceptions on the season as the Cardinals currently yield a -1 turnover margin in comparison to Atlanta’s +3. It seems as if Vic Beasley is stripping the ball from blindsided quarterbacks each game and hopefully this will continue Sunday against a depleted Cardinal’s O-Line as it would bode substantially well for the Falcon’s. The more chances the Falcon’s offense gets to take the field, the better. The Falcon’s must focus on getting turnovers instead of giving up turnovers and if they do so, which they have proven to do, they should put themselves in excellent position to move to 7-4.

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