Cardinals vs Falcons Week 16: Top 5 Players Who Could Decide the Game

The Arizona Cardinals are hosting the Atlanta Falcons for their final home game of the season. Conversely, this is the last game on the 2025 schedule that feels winnable for Arizona.

Although Atlanta seemingly has the better roster on paper, the team has dealt with no shortage of injuries and has flat-out failed to live up to its talent. It’s been a season of disappointment for both teams.

Talent hasn’t necessarily been the issue for these teams, and each roster has several Pro Bowl-caliber players. Honestly, each team has at least one All-Pro-type player and plus starters scattered throughout. Better coaching could save these teams, but that’s not what we’re here to discuss.

The following is a list of the five best players that will likely determine the outcome of this game. The king reclaims his spot atop the rankings, which are dominated by offensive superstars, and two defensive captains also get their flowers.

Let’s start with the quarterbacks, who are forgettable to everyone aside from fantasy football players. Speaking of which…

The Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett has a chance to win some fantasy football players a championship. The way Brissett has been slinging the ball has been something Cardinals fans haven’t seen in a long, long time. As a starter, Brissett is averaging 300.8 passing yards per game.

That number would make him first in the league by 20 yards, but his two game appearances have (unfairly) weighed down that average. For what it’s worth, that’s the highest per-game average since the turn of the century; Carson Palmer was the second-highest with 291.9 YPG in his magical 2015 campaign.

The career turnaround for Kirk Cousins since arriving in Atlanta last season has been astounding in the worst way. Cousins has thrown just 24 touchdowns in 21 games against 19 interceptions. He started the season behind Michael Penix Jr. before the second-year man was injured for the season.

Cousins did throw three touchdowns last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but we will hold our breath on that being a sign of things to come.

READ: 3 Bold Predictions for Cardinals vs Falcons

5. Jessie Bates III

A “down season” for Bates has still produced 85 tackles (second on the team), two interceptions, and four pass breakups. We can call that a somewhat subpar season for Bates, and yet that’s more than a Pro Bowl-level season for the ace safety.

Bates is a bona fide top-10 safety in the league with no signs of slowing down. When he’s on the field, quarterbacks locate him before every snap, and he’s the leader of a stout Falcons defense. With Bates patrolling the secondary, it’s no wonder how this pass defense has taken such a major step forward this year.

4. Josh Sweat

Sweat has been quiet the last two games, posting a single tackle last week against the Houston Texans. Before that, the stud pass rusher was on a tear with six sacks in five games. He has 11 on the year, but he will need to end his cold streak against a rock-solid Falcons offensive line if he wants to close out the season on a high note.

The offensive tackles are OK for Atlanta, while their interior blockers have been nearly unstoppable. Sweat needs to take advantage of his matchups, and he stacks up well.

3. Drake London

London hasn’t played in over a month, but he’s averaging 90 receiving yards per game this season with a healthy 13.5 yards per reception and six scores on 60 catches. In his last six games played, he posted 100+ yards in all but one game.

Although we haven’t gotten to see London play a full game with Cousins this season, he recorded 78 receptions for 919 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games last season with the veteran quarterback. There’s no telling how he’ll look coming off injury with a new quarterback, but the big man is the definition of a problem for opposing defenses.

2. Bijan Robinson

The Tucson native is perhaps the best running back in the league. He’s taken a step back in touchdowns this year after scoring 15 last season, but he’s on pace to nearly match his rushing yards. Robinson has already set a career best in receiving yards with three games to go.

His 5.0 yards-per-carry average is eighth in the league among players with at least 100 carries, and he has been held under 90 scrimmage yards once all year. The Cardinals defense is in for a long day.

1. Trey McBride

Man, it feels good to have the best tight end in football. In fact, it’s far past time to start the conversation that McBride should be in the conversation for Offensive Player of the Year. McBride has the tight end triple crown if the season ended today, but he’s also sixth in the league in receiving yards, period.

He’s also second in receptions, tied for third with 10 touchdowns. To say McBride has been a one-man wrecking crew would be an understatement, and he’s putting together one of the greatest seasons the position has ever seen.