The good Atlanta Falcons team showed up in Sunday’s 41-7 demolition of the woeful Arizona Cardinals.
The Falcons looked like an entirely different team than the one that couldn’t get anything going against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense in Week 1. The running game was crisp, sans one bad play from scrimmage, the defense was superb and Matt Ryan looked like very much like the elite quarterback that he could turn into this season.
Turning Point: The sarcastic scribe in me would like to say that the turning point in this one was the opening kickoff because the Falcons really did dominate almost from the opening whistle.
However, the Cardinals made a game of this one early in the second quarter when Tim Hightower ripped an 80-yard run from scrimmage to cut the lead to 10-7. But “Matty Ice” & Co. responded with a nine-play, 72-yard drive, which was capped by a 19-yard pass from Ryan to Jason Snelling to push the Atlanta lead back to double digits.
The Falcons never looked back.
Unsung Hero: We’ll give this one to rookie OLB Sean Weatherspoon, who was all over the field in this one. Not only did Atlanta’s first round pick lead the club with eight tackles and an assist, but he also recorded his first NFL sack, battering beleaguered Arizona QB Derek Anderson for a nine-yard loss in the second quarter.
It was the second straight stellar game for the Atlanta linebacker. Weatherspoon had seven tackles and an assist in the Falcons’ season-opening 15-9 overtime loss to the Steelers.
Star of the Game: Snelling had a coming out party at the Dome in this one. With Michael Turner (groin) and Jerious Norwood (knee) sidelined for much of the game, Snelling had his best outing as a pro, collecting 186 all-purpose yards and scoring three of Atlanta’s five touchdowns.
Snelling rushed for 129 yards on 24 carries and two scores on the ground and caught five passes for 57 yards and a score in the air. Not bad for a player who wasn’t expected to get many touches at all in this one.
Snelling showed that it pays to stay ready, even if you are buried behind two other guys on your team’s depth chart. Anything can happen in the National Football League.
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