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Sunday, Dec. 26 1:00pm ET
Hanspard, Falcons play spoilers | ||||||||||||||||||
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Arizona Cardinals won't be going back to the playoffs. On Sunday, every reason for their downfall was on display against the hapless Atlanta Falcons. Needing a victory to keep alive their postseason hopes, the Cardinals instead were eliminated by a 37-14 loss to the Falcons, who took advantage of Arizona's glaring weaknesses.
Long ago eliminated from the postseason, the NFC champion Falcons (4-11) reveled in the role of spoiler. Bob Christian sealed the victory with his second touchdown of the game, a career-best 33-yard run in the final quarter. "We weren't playing for a playoff spot, but we're paid to perform," Ray Buchanan said. "We were playing loose. I'm sure they felt more pressure than we did because of the playoff situation." Morten Andersen kicked two field goals in the final 42 seconds of the second quarter, giving the Falcons a 20-14 lead at the half. Atlanta took all the life out of the Cardinals by taking the second-half kickoff and going 80 yards in 15 plays, a drive that consumed 10:21 and included only one play of more than 10 yards. Chris Chandler, who sat out last week with strained rib muscles, hooked up with rookie Eugene Baker on an 11-yard pass to the Arizona 1 before Hanspard scored. The Cardinals challenged the call after the ball popped away from Hanspard, but the replay showed he already had crossed the goal line. Hanspard started in place of leading rusher Ken Oxendine, who was benched after fumbling twice last week against Tennessee. In the opening minute of the final period, the Cardinals were stopped when Jake Plummer's fourth-and-10 pass at the Atlanta 40 was broken up by Buchanan. The Falcons went the other way, and facing third-and-10 at the Arizona 33, gave the ball to Christian on a draw. He found a gaping hole and didn't stop running until reaching the end zone, giving the Falcons a 34-14 lead with 10:06 remaining and effectively ending the Cardinals' season.
Christian, a devoutly religious man, scored on an audible dubbed "Moses" in the Falcons playbook. "Moses parted the Red Sea," Christian said. "That play works the same way. It was easy on my part. All I had to do was run and hope I didn't get caught." Plummer threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to David Boston with 8:19 remaining, but Johnny McWilliams was called for offensive pass interference some 15 yards away. The Cardinals wound up being stopped again on downs. Arizona's first-quarter troubles continued when Atlanta grabbed a 7-0 lead on Chandler's 23-yard touchdown pass to Terance Mathis. They took advantage of two critical penalties, including a pass-interference call against Corey Chavous that kept the drive alive. Arizona went ahead on two 1-yard touchdown runs by Mario Bates in the second quarter before Atlanta drew even on Christian's 1-yard plunge on fourth down with 4:39 remaining in the half. The Falcons went ahead for good on Andersen's 28-yard field goal with 42 seconds remaining. Arizona decided not to run out the clock and wound up regretting it. Gerald McBurrows intercepted Plummer's pass and returned 23 yards, leading to Andersen's 24-yard field goal as time ran out. | ALSO SEE NFL Scoreboard Arizona Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse Week 16 wrap-ups
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