Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel’s approach is rather simple.
“The little things, they turn into big things and they turn into big plays,” Gabriel said on Sunday. “I feel like you guys saw that today.”
Gabriel ignited the offense in a 38-19 victory against the Arizona Cardinals before 69,243 boisterous fans at the Georgia Dome.
Gabriel was the answer to the Cardinals’ exotic blitzes as he scored on two screen passes and had a long-gainer on a reverse. He finished with four catches for 75 yards and touchdown receptions of 35 and 25 yards.
“Everything that we’ve asked him to do, he’s done it very well,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said.“He’s been a boost for us offensively.”
The Falcons, who are in first place in the NFC South, improved to 7-4. The Cardinals, who reached the NFC Championship game last season, dropped to 4-6-1.
Atlanta holds a one-game lead over Tampa Bay, who defeated Seattle to improve to 6-5. They have a two-game lead over New Orleans, who improved to 5-6 win win over Los Angeles, and a three-game lead over Carolina (4-7).
Here are the five things we learned:
1. Lightning in a bottle. The Falcons have some lightning packed into the 5-foot, 8-inch and 165-pound Gabriel.
With the score tied at 10 with 2:28 left in the second quarter, the Cardinals sent an all-out blitz.
Ryan flipped the ball outside to Gabriel on a quick screen at the 40-yard line. He picked up a block from tight end Levine Toilolo on Arizona cornerback Marcus Cooper. He cut inside and then put a move on Arizona safety D.J. Swearinger. Gabriel cut back outside and outran Arizona linebacker Chandler Jones to the end zone.
Gabriel helped to put the game out of reach when he scored on another screen from 25 yards out with 8:48 to play in the game.
Gabriel made the first defender miss and then flashed his speed before diving into the end zone from about 4 yards out. His second touchdown capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive and give the Falcons a 31-13 lead.
“When they’re quadruple teaming Julio (Jones) and triple-teaming Julio, I feel like me, (Mohamed) Sanu, (Justin) Hardy, everybody on that receiving corps can just take advantage of those one-on-one matchups,” Gabriel said. “I feel like we did that today.”
2. Run attack shut down. The Falcons were hoping that the return of running back Tevin Coleman would help spark the rushing attack.
With the Falcons holding a 17-13 halftime lead, Devonta Freeman had rushed five times for 16 yards and Coleman had one carry for minus five yards.
The Falcons’ longest run from scrimmage was a 27-yard reverse by Gabriel.
Freeman finished with 16 carries for 60 yards and a 5-yard rushing touchdown with 2:07 left. Coleman finished with eight carries for 9 yards.
3. Upshaw at home. Defensive tackle Courtney Upshaw, who's been converted from linebacker this season, continued to shine against the Cardinals.
He had three tackles, two quarterback hits and he shared a sack with Brooks Reed.
Upshaw helped to shut down the Cardinals’ rushing attack. Arizona running back David Johnson had 58 yards on 13 carries.
This was the first game since the defense gave up 208 yards rushing against Philadelphia.
“It was definitely one of our points of emphasis,” cornerback Jalen Collins said. “We had to know our fits and make our hits. The front seven, they did that.”
4. Wile up to the task. Punter Matt Wile, who played at Michigan and was making his NFL debut, handled the punting and kickoff chores with Matt Bosher sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Wile was signed to the 53-man roster on Tuesday.
Wile was a four-year letterman and appeared in 52 games as a kickoff specialist and punter for the Wolverines. He appeared in 18 games as a punter and placed 29 punts inside the 20.
After the 2015 draft, Wile was signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent. He was in camp with the Cowboys in 2015.
Bosher suffered a hamstring injury against the Eagles and couldn’t finish the game. Kicker Matt Bryant took over and punted twice and had a 33.5 average.
Bosher has played in 90 consecutive regular-season games since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 draft.
Wile’s kickoffs were not returned and he boomed punts of 57 and 59 yards with good hang time.
Quarterback Matt Schaub handled the holding duties on extra points and field goals.
5. Corner back shuffle. Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant, who suffered a torn pectoral and shoulder injury against Tampa Bay on Nov. 3, is set to have season-ending shoulder surgery on Thursday.
Trufant practiced in a limited role all week and was listed as questionable. He didn’t play against the Cardinals.
Although he practiced, Trufant was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be able to play.
After the Tampa Bay game, he missed the contest the following week against Philadelphia, which the Falcons dropped 24-15. Collins took over most of Trufant’s role against the Eagles and the Cardinals.
“I’m ready to take over at left cornerback,” Collins said. “I’m out there to play football. That’s what I did. We prepare, so I’m sure I can get I done.”
Collins tied for the team lead with six tackles. He also had a tackle for a loss and three pass breakups.
“Our game plan was that we know these receivers run certain routes and from certain formations,” Collins said. “We knew what kind of looks we were going to get, we stuck to our game plan and what we have been practicing all week.”
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