2009 NFL Wild Card Saturday Playoff Games
Cardinals Beat Falcons, Chargers Beat Colts
Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals Defeat Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24
Leading up to the afternoon game between Arizona and Atlanta, it seemed that most football experts who predicted a win by the Cardinals pointed to the age and experience gap that exists between the quarterbacks. The Cardinals' Warner is 14 years older than Falcons' rookie Ryan, has played in 10 more NFL seasons and has a Super Bowl ring on his finger. But an impressive first-year NFL campaign from Ryan that earned him the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year award had many thinking that the Falcons could upend the Cardinals. It wouldn't happen.
The afternoon did not start well for Ryan as his first pass attempt of the game (and his playoff career) was intercepted. Warner capitalized on the mistake on the next possession when he connected with Larry Fitzgerald on a 42-yard flea flicker that put the Cardinals up by seven. The Falcons cut the deficit to four when Jason Elam hit a 30-yard FG five minutes into the second quarter. The celebration was short lived, however, as just three plays later Warner found Anquan Boldin open to his left and watched as the receiver eluded one would-be tackler and took the ball up the sidelines for a 71-yard score and a 14-3 lead.
But the Falcons would not give up easily. Ryan almost single-handedly led his team downfield on their next possession and watched Michael Turner punch the ball into the endzone on a 7-yard rushing TD. The Falcons got the ball back again with just over two minutes left in the half when a short pass attempt up the middle by Warner deflected off the shoulder of his target and sat in air long enough for the Falcons to get underneath and intercept it at the Cardinals' 23-yard line. Six plays later the Falcons took the lead when Ryan found TE Justin Peelle wide open in the for a 2-yard TD and a 17-14 lead at halftime.
The second half started the same as the first for the Falcons when a hand-off in the backfield from Ryan was fumbled. The Cardinals recovered the ball and ran it back 27 yards for the score and a 21-17 lead. The half would belong to Arizona as they scored twice more, first on a 4-yard run by Tim Hightower and then a safety when they sacked Ryan in his own endzone. Atlanta added a TD with just over four minutes left in the game but Warner got the yardage and downs the Cardinals needed to run out the clock and preserve the win.
The Cardinals will visit Carolina to play the Panthers next Saturday evening.
Cardinals Leaders:
- Warner: 19-for-32 for 271 yards, two TDs and one INT
- Edgerrin James: 16 rushes for 73 yards
- Fitzgerald: 6 catches for 101 yards and one TD
- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie: 9 tackles and one INT
Falcons Leaders:
- Ryan: 26-for-40 for 199 yards, two TDs and two INTs
- Turner: 18 rushes for 42 yards and one TD
- Roddy White: 11 catches for 84 yards and one TD
- Chevis Jackson: 2 tackles and one INT
League MVP Peyton Manning Eliminated by the San Diego Chargers, 23-17
Just one day after receiving his third NFL MVP award, Manning was guaranteed by the Chargers on Saturday evening that there will be no Super Bowl MVP honours for him this year.
With the Colts trailing 14-10 midway through the third quarter, Manning caught the San Diego defense off guard on a lazy substitution when he directed a quick snap on third-and-five and connected with a wide open Reggie Wayne on the left side of the field. Before the Chargers' secondary realized that the ball was in play, Wayne was well on his way to a 72-yard score that gave the lead back to Indianapolis. The lead stood for most of the rest of the game until, with two and a half minutes left and the Colts pinned deep in their own territory, the Chargers sacked Manning at his own 1-yard line on third-and-two. The two-minute warning stopped the clock for the Chargers, who had no timeouts left, and forced the Colts to punt. Darren Sproles, the star of the game, returned the 63-yard punt 26 yards to the Indianapolis 38-yard line. Philip Rivers completed two straight 11-yard passes to Antonio Gates to move the ball deeper into Colts' territory before Sproles pushed the ball closer with an eight-yard run with 46 seconds left and the clock ticking. Nate Kaeding came on and booted the ball through for the tie with just over 30 seconds left, forcing the eventual overtime.
The Chargers won the coin toss and started with the ball at their own 25. From there it was all about Sproles and the Indianapolis defense. Three penalties against the Colts' defense accounted for 25 yards as the Chargers made their way downfield. On second-and-12 from the Colts' 22, Sproles burst through the left side of the defense and wouldn't be caught as he strolled into the endzone for the game-winning TD that sent the homefield crowd into a frenzy and helped the Chargers eliminate the Colts for the second-straight season.
Sproles was filling in for LaDainian Tomlinson, who left midway through the second quarter after scoring a TD with an apparent re-aggravation of his groin injury. He finished with 328 of the team's 535 all-purpose yards. His all-purpose yardage total was third most in NFL playoff history.
The Chargers will face the Steelers in Pittsburgh next Sunday afternoon.
Colts Leaders:
- Manning: 25-for-42 for 310 yards and one TD
- Joseph Addai: 16 rushes for 44 yards and one TD
- Wayne: 4 catches for 129 yards and one TD
- Robert Mathis: 3 tackles and 2 sacks
Chargers Leaders:
- Rivers: 20-for-36 for 217 yards
- Sproles: 23 rushes for 105 yards and two TDs; 5 catches for 45 yards; 178 yards on kickoff and punt returns
- Gates: 8 catches for 87 yards
- Stephen Cooper: 6 tackles
Stats Source:
nfl.com
Click here for the scores from Sunday's wild card games
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