Cardinals host Falcons in NFC wildcard

Saturday afternoon’s NFC playoff clash between the Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons at University of Phoenix Stadium features two teams that haven’t been in the postseason for a while.

The NFC West Division champion Cardinals (9-7) will be making their first playoff appearance since 1998 and their second in 21 seasons since moving from St. Louis to Phoenix. This will be the Cardinals’ first home playoff game in Arizona; they never hosted one in 28 years in St. Louis. The last time the franchise played a postseason game at home was in 1947, when the Chicago Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 at Comiskey Park for the NFL championship.

The Falcons, meanwhile, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2004. In the regular season, they completed a remarkable turnaround from the team’s debacle of 2007, a year which was marred by the dog-fighting saga involving quarterback Michael Vick and the late-season departure of head coach Bobby Petrino.

This season, first-year head coach Mike Smith has led Atlanta to a playoff appearance that virtually no one in the national media saw coming. But while the Falcons’ NFC wildcard berth may be surprising, it certainly is no fluke. Competing amongst a crowded field of NFC contenders, the Falcons won their final three regular-season games to finish 11-5 and earn the conference’s top wildcard and No. 5 overall playoff seed.

The Cardinals and Falcons did not meet during the 2008 regular season, adding another layer of mystique to their intriguing playoff matchup.

Followers of the Cardinals can point to several potential keys to victory in analyzing the contest, which kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. Here are six:

1. Do not allow Michael Turner to take over the game. The Falcons’ Pro Bowl running back rushed for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season. He’ll get his yards on Saturday, and he most likely will find the end zone at least once. While the Cardinals won’t be able to stop him, they’ll need to find a way to contain him. If Turner rushes for, say, 115 yards on 27 carries, the Cardinals will have a chance to win. If Turner runs for 215 yards on 27 carries, it will be tough for Arizona to prevail.

2. Prevent big pass plays to Roddy White. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year after passing for 3,440 yards and 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. His favorite target is White, a Pro Bowl receiver who caught 88 passes for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns. Ryan and White have the ability to break open the game. The Cardinals must stop that from happening.

> Buy Arizona Cardinals apparel & jerseys online through Pro Football Fans and check out the 2008 NFL scores!

3. Protect quarterback Kurt Warner. The Cardinals’ stellar receiving trio of Larry Fitzgerald (who finished the regular season with 1,431 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns), Anquan Boldin (1,038 yards and 11 scores) and Steve Breaston (1,006 yard and three touchdowns) can get open against anybody. If the Arizona offensive line can keep defensive end John Abraham (who has 16.5 of the Falcons’ 33 regular-season sacks) and the rest of the formidable Atlanta pass rush away from Warner, the Cardinals’ Pro Bowl quarterback (who has thrown for 4,583 yards and a franchise record 30 touchdowns) and his receivers can have a big day. They’ll need to in order to keep pace in what could develop into a high-scoring shootout.

4. Exhibit some semblance of a running game. Most likely, the Cardinals will not rush for as many yards as the Falcons. That’s OK, as long as Arizona can run the ball enough to keep the defense honest. Whether it’s Edgerrin James (who rushed for 100 yards last week against the Seahawks in his most-extensive action since October) or Tim Hightower (who has started seven games this season) or J.J. Arrington (a change-of-pace back who has the speed to make things happen), the Cardinals will need at least one of their running backs to contribute.

5. Do not turn the ball over. In what figures to be a closely contested matchup, the Cardinals simply cannot afford to give away the football on fumbles and interceptions.

6. Make plays during crunch time. In a game that likely will be decided in the final five minutes, the Cardinals will need great plays from their best players. There will be a fine line between a 27-24 victory and a 27-24 defeat on Saturday. In the closing minutes, Arizona will need Warner, Fitzgerald, Boldin and Breaston to step up on offense and will rely upon Darnell Dockett, Karlos Dansby and Adrian Wilson to come through on defense.

By Tom Kessler
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer