NFL Wild Card Weekend Predictions, Atlanta vs Arizona

Saturday 1-3-9 at 1:30 pacific. Atlanta Falcons(11-5)@Arizona Cardinals(9-7)

Cardinals- The Cardinals havnt had a home playoff game in some 20 years, and the fans should be be riled up and excited about this game. Once the Cardinals clinched the division, they really stumbled down the stretch, they played bad football including a 47-7 at the hands of the New England Patriots in week 16. But the playoffs are a new season, and even with the bad finish to the year this offense can certainly still put up points. They have an NFL MVP Quarterback and anything can happen when the ole wily veteran Kurt Warner.

Falcons- The Atlanta Falcons have surprised alot of people by even being here in this playoff game, but they are going to be on the road in a hostile environment in Arizona. They have Michael "the burner" Turner, who had been a great weapon at Runningback, for the rookie QB Matt Ryan. The Falcons need to be able to run the ball effectively early to take the pressure off of the young QB if they want a chance to win this game.

Prediction- The only bird vs bird matchup of the weekend shapes up to be a very interesting game. The Falcons have been good all year, and been able to score points, but they are very young and inexperienced for the playoffs. The Cardinals are much more experienced, especially at the Quarterback position but have really stumbled down the stretch having to beat the lowly Seattle Seahawks in week 17 just to finish with a winning record. This is the first home playoff game for the Cardinals in a long time, and the house should be rocking for the home team. But I look for the Falcons to control the ball on the ground with Micheal "the burner" Turner against the bad Arizona Cardinals run defense. This will take the pressure off of the Rookie of the Year Quarterback, Matt Ryan. I like the dirty birds to overcome the crowd noise and outscore the Arizona Cardinals 31-20.