3 Keys to Cardinals Beating Falcons, Including Stopping This Game-Wrecker

The Arizona Cardinals host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. Here's what needs to happen for the Cardinals to win.

Dec 14, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) signals during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Do the Arizona Cardinals have it in them to get any more wins as the 2025 season comes to a close?

They will host the Atlanta Falcons for their final home game of the year and finish things off by visiting the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. Things don't look great for them to get at least one more win, but the Falcons seem to be the most winnable of the three.

That said, Atlanta is playing much better football than Arizona is right now, despite being a five-win team. I actually see a lot of similarities between these two teams: both have several Pro Bowl–level players on either side of the ball, with superstars on offense, quarterback questions, and a potential need for a new head coach.

On top of that, they both entered 2025 with hopes of making the postseason and failed to do so in spectacular fashion.

If the Cardinals want to prove they are a better team than the Falcons and get a win to end an embarrassing six-game losing streak, they need to follow this easy three-step plan. The keys to victory are as follows for Arizona to get their fourth, and perhaps final, win of the 2025 season.

Find Jessie Bates III before every snap

Do you understand how great you have to be at your position when a stat line like what Bates has produced this season is considered underwhelming? Bates has 85 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble, and yet that feels like a “meh” performance for the superstar. But that doesn't mean that he's been bad—not even remotely.

Jacoby Brissett has been turning the ball over at a bit of an alarming rate as of late, and Bates is exactly the kind of defender who can make you pay for playing fast and loose. We will talk more about how the Cardinals need to proceed in terms of their passing game in a moment, but the best thing Brissett and the offense can do is locate No. 3 before every snap.

Bates is a special player, and he's been a ball hawk his entire career. If you lose track of him for even one down, he can turn the game on its head.

Get the ball out fast

Brissett is averaging more than 300 passing yards per game in nine starts, and he's attacking every level of the field. Trey McBride has been unstoppable, Michael Wilson has been one of the league's best-kept secrets, and a healthy Marvin Harrison Jr. looks much more confident since Brissett took over under center. The Falcons have an elite pass defense that should pose a threat to Brissett's dominant box score numbers, but that's not where I am most concerned (don't take that as an insult).

Would you believe me if I told you that the Falcons' defense has compiled 48 sacks this season? They've been among the worst pass-rushing defenses for the last several seasons, yet they have 16 players who have recorded at least one sack. One of their first-round pass rushers, James Pearce Jr., leads the team with 8.0, and his fellow Day 1 draft mate, Jalon Walker, has 5.5 of his own. The front seven has delivered all but 3.5 of their sack total, and they're going up against one of the worst offensive lines in the league that's missing its only good player.

Brissett will have his ass in the grass all day unless the offense creates a game plan to get the ball out quickly and neutralize an elite pass rush. The Cardinals haven't gotten enough yards after the catch from their receivers this season, but they'll need Wilson and Harrison to pull their weight while McBride continues making defenders look silly.

Slow down Kyle Pitts

2025 finally appears to be the season that Pitts has put it all together. The former fourth overall pick entered the league a superstar with a 1,000-yard receiving season before tumbling to just over 1,600 yards over three seasons. Pitts has been far more consistent this season, with a career-best 73 receptions and more highs than lows over the course of the year.

He had perhaps the best game of his career against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 166 yards and a hat trick. It doesn't stop there, however, as he's also recorded 338 yards over the last three games and is averaging over 14.0 yards per reception. There's simply no answer for what the fifth-year man is doing right now, and he and his agent have to be thrilled as he is up for a new contract.

The Cardinals haven't been particularly great against tight ends this season, and Pitts is among the most gifted that they have faced all year. Considering the hot streak he's currently on, Pitts feels primed to continue his dominant run and push for a career year. Arizona has plenty of players to worry about between Bijan Robinson and a healthy Drake London, but Pitts comes into this game as one of the scariest weapons that the Falcons are rolling with right now.