Falcons – Cardinals instant recap: Bijan Robinson powers a fun road win

The Atlanta Falcons had never won in the current Arizona Cardinals stadium. They had been struggling on the road off and on all year. None of that mattered today, as the Falcons picked up their second straight win and beat Arizona on a potent Bijan Robinson game and a late CJ Henderson interception. It was the second straight week where Atlanta’s mistakes, while very visible and obnoxious, were not enough to keep the team from a win against an NFC opponent.

Here’s a full drive-by-drive look at the game you just watched.

1st Quarter

The Falcons picked up a penalty on the opening kickoff, which was fun. Trey McBride didn’t reel it in on first down working against Divine Deablo. Michael Carter picked up three yards on second down. A quick pass from Jacoby Brissett on third down went to tight end Elijah Higgins, who was open and wiggled his way to a first down. Brissett then tried a deep shot to Marvin Harrison Jr., who wasn’t able to reel it in working against A.J. Terrell and Xavier Watts. Carter then picked up seven yards. On third down, Brissett’s ball was low under pressure, and Carter couldn’t reel it in as Deablo hit him. The penalty still gave the Cardinals enough room to hit a 50 yard field goal and make it 3-0 Cardinals.

Atlanta got 30 yards on the touchback. Bijan took it nine yards on first down, and then picked up two yards and a first down. Kirk Cousins then threw a pass after play action that was a little slow to arrive and tipped into the air by Arizona. Cousins had a second straight pass tipped, this time by Budda Baker as he pressured Cousins. Then Cousins under pressure found Kyle Pitts for a first down. Drake London was the target the next time, but he dropped the ball as he was hit. A screen to Bijan went for about four yards. With pressure in his face, Cousins threw it away. On a fourth down try, Cousins was picked off and the Cardinals had nice field position off the return.

Emari Demercado was taken down for a loss by Kentavius Street. Carter then got 15 yards before Cobee Bryant got him. Brissett rolled out on first down but had his pass swatted by James Pearce Jr. Carter was stopped after a couple of yards. Brissett then bombed one downfield working against Cobee Bryant, who had tremendous coverage but wasn’t quite able to stop the catch. 10-0 Cardinals.

Robinson picked up four yards. Three more yards followed. A quick pass to London picked up a first. Bijan picked up a couple of yards on first down. Dalvin Tomlinson then nearly killed Cousins, who managed to throw it away. London reeled in a sideline ball for a first down. Tyler Allgeier then rumbled for a first down. Allgeier slipped a little bit on second down for a yard or two. Cousins couldn’t quite hit Sills with pressure getting home. Cousins was then sacked on third down. Zane Gonzalez hit his field goal try to make it 10-3 Cardinals.

The Cardinals return went for 20 yards. Carter then picked up six yards. Higgins picked up another first down. Three yards for Carter followed. Brissett then evaded a sack and threw it away. A deep shot to Wilson fell incomplete thanks to Wilson not looking back, but a holding call on A.J. Terrell gave Arizona no life.

2nd Quarter

Carter lost a yard on first down. Brissett didn’t have anywhere to go and elected to toss it into the dirt, with an ineligible man downfield penalty declined. Somehow, Demercado took it 11 yards on third down to set up a fourth and short. The Cardinals elected to kick the field goal, and Ryland hit it from 51 to make it 13-3 Cardinals.

Cousins then hit a spinning Bijan for a first down that turned into a 30-plus yard gain. Bijan then picked up another first down, and then caught another pass for a touchdown where he did all the heavy lifting getting to the sideline and rolling in. 13-10 Cardinals.

On first down, Arnold Ebiketie got Brissett for a sack. A quick pass to McBridge went for nine yards. Brissett got away from pressure and managed to throw it for 13. A quick carry from Corey Kiner picked up five yards. McBride then got a first down, and Kiner followed that up with nine yards on the ground, and then Kiner got another yard for a first down. Kiner got a couple of yards on first down, and on the next play Brissett tried and failed to get away from pressure, throwing it as he got hit for an incompletion. Brissett then threw one very low to McBride, and it was just ruled incomplete. The Cardinals then settled for a field goal to make it 16-10 Arizona.

On the kickoff, Ryland slipped and messed up his kick, giving Atlanta favorable field position at the 40 yard line. On first down, Cousins tried Robinson again, but he didn’t reel it in. Robinson then had another ridiculous carry for 11 yards and a first down. Cousins then missed Pitts over the middle. Allgeier then was fired out of a cannon and leapt for a first down. Allgeier then picked up six. Cousins then tried London, but he had Will Johnson all over him. Bijan was stopped by Budda Baker just shy of a first down. A sneak on fourth and inches for Cousins picked up an easy first down. Cousins then overthrew Bijan on first down. A quick screen to Pitts got maybe four yards. A nice throw from Cousins to Pitts with coverage on him got another first down. Cousins then threw it away on first down. Cousins then hit London for about six or seven yards. On the next play, Pitts got wide open and Cousins hit him for a touchdown. Gonzalez’s extra point was blocked by Calais Campbell to make it 16-16.

Brissett hung in and threw a nice ball to Michael Wilson to pick up 20ish against Bryant. Brissett then threw for six yards to the sideline. Demercado then rolled for a first down through the heart of Atlanta’s defensive front. Ryland finally doinked one from 50 to keep the tie heading into halftime.

3rd Quarter

Robinson got the first carry and was tackled for a small loss. Bijan then got maybe three yards on second down cutting back in side. Bijan then saved Cousins from a sack and he responded with a high ball to Pitts, who caught it and fell forward for a first. A hold on Chris Lindstrom brought back a 20 yard Bijan run, and the booth questioned the call. Allgeier then took it and cut back for close to 10 yards. Allgeier then pushed his way forward for another chunk gain for about five yards. An incomplete was wiped out by Baron Browning, who jumped offsides. Off play action, Cousins tried Allgeier on a pass but he couldn’t get away from a defender who was right there for a loss. A quick screen on the next play to (who else?) Bijan nearly picked up a first down, but he was tackled for a loss on the next play. On fourth down, Pitts reeled it in over the middle again for a first down. Robinson followed that up with a yard. A quick pass to Charlie Woerner picked up two yards. Cousins then tried Drake London high on the sideline but didn’t get him. Gonzalez hit his 40 yard try to make it 19-16 Falcons.

Carter picked up close to 20 yards on first down before Jessie Bates got him. On the next play, LaCale London took Carter down for a multi-yard loss. A quick hitter to Higgins got about eight yards. Nearly sacked, Brissett hit Higgins and got 25 yards before Watts got him. Carter got stopped by David Onyemata again for a small loss. Terrell made a fantastic play on an end zone shot from Brissett to Harrison, getting his hand in there, and then Demercado dropped a short pass from Brissett. Ryland then missed the 44 yard try.

A quick hitter to Robinson after Cousins bought some time went for nine yards. Bijan then changed direction and rolled for close to 30 yards, surpassing 2,000 scrimmage yards for the season. Allgeier then took it six yards, and then bullied his way through contact for another three yards. Allgeier then made a cut inside and just got the first down. A play action pass to Pitts went for eight yards.

4th Quarter

Robinson caught a swing pass for a first down. He then was tackled for a small loss on first down. On second down, Cousins tried Pitts in the end zone but just missed; a holding call on the Cardinals gave the Falcons a fresh set of downs closer. A quick Bijan carry got a yard. Allgeier then reached and picked up a couple of yards, getting Atlanta close, and then Cousins tried a touchdown pass to Jake Matthews and it was a little high, but might have been catchable for a wide receiver. Cousins then snuck it in for a touchdown. 26-16 Falcons.

Brissett got away from pressure and his receiver mishandled the ball. A quick hitter to McBride went for five yards. Brandon Dorlus then sacked Brissett, getting his eighth of the year, and then Deven Thompkins had a solid return.

Allgeier pushed his way to a first down and 12 yards. An Elijah Wilkinson penalty backed Atlanta up a few yards and wiped out a nice Allgeier run. Allgeier took it again for two yards. A quick screen to Mooney picked up four yards. Another screen to Bijan came up just short of a first down. Going for it on fourth down, a bunch of guys collided in the backfield (Charlie Woerner into Tyler Allgeier, mostly) and the handoff was fumbled, giving it back to Arizona.

Carter took it for a couple of yards. A pass to McBride picked up seven before Deablo got him. Brissett then took it up the middle for a first down. Under pressure, Brissett threw it into the dirt. Demercado then took it eight yards, and Terrell was hurt on the play. Brissett then threw one low and Harrison scooped it up for a first down and 22 yards. A quick pass to McBride resulted in him getting blown up after a couple of yards. Brissett tried McBride in the end zone, but Kaden Elliss and Jessie Bates hit him and knocked the ball out. Brissett tried McBride again under heavy pressure and couldn’t get him, with Bates getting his hand in and knocking it away. Ryland hit it from 34 yards out to make it 26-19 Falcons.

Thompkins decided to kneel it but nearly left the end zone while doing so, which would have been disastrous. Cousins had time and was able to hit Mooney for a big first down. Allgeier then picked up a yard or two. Allgeier followed that up with a six yard gain. Robinson was then tackled after diving for a yard, coming up just short of a first down. Allgeier then took the fourth down carry and was stopped.

Demercado picked up five yards. A quick throw to Higgins lost a yard, and then Arizona suffered a false start. Higgins then caught one, spun through contact, and picked up a first down. On the next play, CJ Henderson picked off Brissett to seal the victory.