Atlanta Falcons look to bounce back against struggling Arizona Cardinals - NFL Preview
The Atlanta Falcons are still unbeaten at home and will look to get back to winning ways on Sunday when they host the struggling Arizona Cardinals.
Atlanta saw their unbeaten run in the National Football League (NFL) 2012-13 season come to an end in week 10 with a 31-27 defeat to fierce division rivals New Orleans Saints.
The Falcons had the chance to grind out a win in the dying minutes but were held back by a Saints defence that has struggled throughout the season.
Quarterback Matt Ryan had his best game of the season against New Orleans passing for 411 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to power the Falcons to victory.
Even with the defeat the Falcons will be confident of bouncing back from their first defeat against the Cardinals.
Atlanta has not lost a consecutive game since the 2009 season and will look to continue that wonderful run on Sunday.
Cornerback Dunta Robinson confidently predicted that the team will bounce back from the loss to New Orleans.
Speaking to the media he said:
"One thing I know about this team in the years that I've been here is that we've always bounced back after a loss and I don't expect anything different.”
Adding further he said:
"I mean, we're 8-1, so you can't be too down and you can't be too disappointed about that. ... We're still excited about our future."
They will need to deliver a better performance on the rush after the Saints held the Falcons running back Michael Turner to just 15 yards rushing from 13 carries.
The Falcons have all the reasons to be confident against Arizona Cardinals.
Their opponents are currently on a five-game losing streak and are struggling all over the field.
Arizona will need to be at their very best and more if they wish to avoid losing six in a row. The team’s offence currently ranks 31st overall in the NFL scoring an average of 16 points per game.
This will be a tough test for the Cardinals as they could not get a much worse fixture than face the league leaders in week 11.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt is expected to make some changes for this fixture.
Speaking to the media he said:
“If it gives us an opportunity to get better and not stay the same, then that's what you have to do, because we've been inconsistent and we're looking for more consistency. When we play consistent football, we're a pretty good football team."
Atlanta will be favourites to win at home and Falcons fans will expect their team to maintain their unbeaten record at home and ensuring that the team does not lose its second game in a row against a poor Cardinals side.
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