Falcons @ Cardinals · Week 5

WEEK 5 · FINAL

THE READ

Cardinals run away with it, 49-21

Arizona dismantled Atlanta 49-21 in week 5, a 28-point margin that came down to turnover management and execution in the passing game. Geno Smith threw 4 touchdowns on 9 of 18 passing for 301 yards while Andy Dalton threw 4 interceptions on 11 of 25 for 307 yards, and the Cardinals' ball security—1 giveaway to Atlanta's 4—proved decisive. Trey McBride caught 3 passes for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns, while the Cardinals ran for 164 yards and controlled a game where Arizona's balanced approach outmatched Atlanta's reliance on the pass.

Talia Morgan Beat reporter

THE WIDER PICTURE

Team	SRS	SOS	MARGIN	TO +/-
Falcons	+3.4	-9.8	+13.2	+3
Cardinals	+9.4	+0.0	+9.4	+4

SRS is how many points a side beats an average team by once you account for who they played — beat a good team by 3 and it counts for more than beating a bad one by 20. SOS is how hard that schedule has been. Full table.

Cardinals — NFC #3 · division · 4-1 Falcons — NFC #5 · 4-1 Playoff picture →

In the MVP race

#4 Marcel Reed QB · Falcons · 2.2% of the field

The whole board →

IN THE BOOTH

Elise Carter The insider

Atlanta came in tied at 4-1 and left looking like they belong nowhere near a playoff conversation—Dalton's 4 interceptions against a Cardinals team that scored 49 points doesn't just lose football games, it ends quarterback tenures.

They only ever read the box score and this league's own numbers — none of them has a source, and none of them can report anything that did not happen.

Geno Smith

Cardinals

9/18, 301 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

Andy Dalton

Falcons

11/25, 307 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT

Trey McBride

Cardinals

3 catches, 156 yards, 3 TD

THE STORY SO FAR

⭐ Trey McBride has not had a better afternoon this season.

⭐ Bijan Robinson has not had a better afternoon this season.

WHAT DECIDED IT

On the ground Cardinals 164, Falcons 145 Cardinals

Total yards Cardinals 465, Falcons 452 Cardinals

Through the air Falcons 307, Cardinals 301 Falcons

Giveaways Cardinals 1, Falcons 4 Cardinals

THE ROOM Final. The recap is below.

📺 THE WEEK 5 SHOW this game is in the week's show ▶ Watch the show

THE MATCHUP SCOUT every number below is counted from the export or read off the roster — nothing is inferred about playcalling

LEAGUE DATA counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it

Pass-heavy Pass 65% · Rush 35% · 33.4 scored, 20.2 allowed

13.3 yds/att 59.0% completions 10.7 yds/carry 380.0 yds/game 2.0 giveaways/game 4.8% sack rate last 5: 4-1

Primary weapon: Kyle Pitts Sr TE — 34% of the receiving yards · DEPENDENCY HIGH

SAPPHIRE METRICS QB efficiency 65 · Aggressive Balance 85 Ball security 44 Back usage 23% QB runs 3.6/game

Most exposed: ball security -- 2.0 giveaways a game

PERSONNEL off the roster — unit averages, best starters only

QB 97 WR 86 TE 84 RB 88 OL 84 DL 81 LB 76 DB 88

Best: Bijan Robinson HB 99 Fastest: Zachariah Branch WR 95 SPD 11 at star dev or better

YOUR NOTEBOOK what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic

HOW THEY PLAY the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season

Isaiah?

Cardinals · his last 5 games

Balanced Gives it away One back

Pass / run59% / 41% Points for / against31.0 — 21.6 Margin+9.4 Giveaways a game2.2 Sacks taken8.3% of dropbacks Lead backJeremiyah Love · 11.4/g Top targetTrey McBride · 32% QB carries1.2 a game

Rif

Falcons · his last 5 games

Throws it Gives it away Runs the quarterback

Pass / run65% / 35% Points for / against33.4 — 20.2 Margin+13.2 Giveaways a game2.0 Sacks taken4.8% of dropbacks Lead backBijan Robinson · 7.0/g Top targetKyle Pitts Sr · 34% QB carries3.6 a game

Counted from the weeks each man actually held his team — so a franchise that changed hands is not credited to whoever has it now. Nothing above is a playcall: the export does not carry those, and neither does this.

THE SERIES Rif against Isaiah? — the men, not the teams

Isaiah? leads it 1-0. Isaiah? won the last one.

1 meeting avg 21.0 — 49.0 biggest: 28 pts to Isaiah?

S2 · week 5 Rif 21 — 49 Isaiah? ISAIAH?

Only meetings Sapphire can attribute to both men are counted — a Madden export never says who owned a team last season, so the series starts where the record does.

MATCHUP ADVANTAGES unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push

Falcons receivers vs Cardinals secondary 86 v 82 FALCONS

Cardinals receivers vs Falcons secondary 82 v 88 FALCONS

Falcons line vs Cardinals front 84 v 86 EVEN

Cardinals line vs Falcons front 82 v 81 EVEN

Falcons backs vs Cardinals run defence 88 v 82 FALCONS

Cardinals backs vs Falcons run defence 86 v 79 CARDINALS

Falcons passer vs Cardinals secondary 97 v 82 FALCONS

Cardinals passer vs Falcons secondary 95 v 88 CARDINALS

TOP PERFORMERS

Andy Dalton QB Falcons 307 pass yds

Geno Smith QB Cardinals 301 pass yds

Trey McBride TE Cardinals 156 rec yds

Jeremiyah Love HB Cardinals 154 rush yds

Bijan Robinson HB Falcons 148 rush yds

Kyle Pitts Sr TE Falcons 141 rec yds

Jahan Dotson WR Falcons 78 rec yds

Zachariah Branch WR Falcons 76 rec yds

Michael Wilson WR Cardinals 64 rec yds

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson FS Cardinals 2 INTs

🎬 The Game Recap
this game as an episode -- the score, the stars, the numbers that decided it -- and a video you can post ›

BOX SCORE

FALCONS

PLAYER	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	SCK	LNG	RTG
Andy Dalton QB	11/25	307	2	4	2	76	76.9

CARDINALS

PLAYER	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	SCK	LNG	RTG
Geno Smith QB	9/18	301	4	1	3	82	112.2

FALCONS

PLAYER	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	BTK	YAC	LNG	FUM
Bijan Robinson HB	11	148	13.5	1	0	11	74	0
Andy Dalton QB	1	-3	-3	0	0	0	0	0

CARDINALS

PLAYER	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	BTK	YAC	LNG
Jeremiyah Love HB	21	154	7.3	2	1	32	31
Geno Smith QB	1	8	8	0	0	0	8
Trey Benson HB	1	2	2	0	0	0	2

FALCONS

PLAYER	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	YAC	DRP	LNG
Kyle Pitts Sr TE	5	141	28.2	1	4	0	35
Jahan Dotson WR	2	78	39	1	54	1	76
Zachariah Branch WR	3	76	25.3	0	18	0	42
Drake London WR	1	12	12	0	1	0	12
Bijan Robinson HB	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

CARDINALS

PLAYER	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	YAC	LNG
Trey McBride TE	3	156	52	3	99	82
Michael Wilson WR	3	64	21.3	0	7	32
Wyatt Young WR	1	42	42	1	3	42
Marvin Harrison Jr WR	1	24	24	0	6	24
Tyler Allgeier HB	1	15	15	0	10	15

FALCONS

PLAYER	TKL	SCK	INT	PD
Ahmad Moten Sr. DT	2	0	0	1
Divine Deablo MIKE	2	1	0	0
Avieon Terrell CB	2	0	0	0
Brandon Dorlus DT	2	1	0	0
A.J. Terrell Jr CB	2	0	0	2
Xavier Watts SS	1	0	0	1
Jessie Bates III FS	1	0	1	1
Jalon Walker LEDG	1	0	0	0
Tyler Davis DT	1	1	0	0
Ty Okada FS	1	0	0	0

CARDINALS

PLAYER	TKL	SCK	INT	PD	TD
Mack Wilson Sr MIKE	2	0	0	0	0
Walter Nolen III DT	2	1	0	0	0
Max Melton CB	2	0	1	0	0
Budda Baker SS	2	0	1	0	0
Zaven Collins LEDG	1	1	0	0	0
Karson Sharar WILL	1	0	0	0	0
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson FS	1	0	2	2	1
Kaleb Proctor DT	1	0	0	0	0
Cody Simon WILL	1	0	0	0	0
Josh Sweat REDG	1	0	0	0	0
Kitan Crawford SS	1	0	0	0	0
Denzel Burke CB	1	0	0	0	0

RECENT FORM

Falcons

W 35–7 vs Commanders WK 4

W 14–0 vs Lions WK 3

W 54–20 vs Giants WK 2

Cardinals

W 14–0 vs Rams WK 4

W 36–22 vs Seahawks WK 3

W 28–13 vs Rams WK 2

TEAM STATS

Falcons		Cardinals
452	TOTAL YARDS	465
307	PASSING YARDS	301
145	RUSHING YARDS	164
2	SACKS ALLOWED	3
3	SACKS MADE	2
4	GIVEAWAYS	1
1	TAKEAWAYS	4

Bold is the side that won that line. Giveaways come off a team's own offensive rows and takeaways off its own defensive rows — two separate payloads, so they need not tie out against each other.

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD

0 FALCONS — 1 CARDINALS

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