8 Exciting Takeaways from Atlanta Falcons 26-19 Over Cardinals

The Atlanta Falcons leaned on Bijan Robinson and a bend but don't break defense to send the Arizona Cardinals to their seventh straight loss. The Falcons prevailed 26-19 after being tied 16-16 at half.

Atlanta held on after letting the Cardinals back in the game with a fumble midway through the fourth quarter while up 10 points. A CJ Henderson interception sealed he game for the Falcons. Henderson was signed to the 53-man roster this week, and it was his first interception since 2022.

Here are our instant takeaways from the win that took the Falcons to 6-9 on the season.

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So That's What That Feels Like

The Falcons have seen their special teams implode on more than one occasion this year. It's not a stretch to say they would be in the playoffs with even average special teams this year.

Atlanta kicked the ball out of bounds to start the game and had an extra point blocked, but they also watched the Cardinals miss two consecutive field goals with the score tied at 16-16 and after the Falcons took the lead 19-16.

The Falcons' defense was poor against the run, giving up 127 yards, but they got stops when they needed them and forced the Cardinals to attempt six field goals, making four.

We Defer

The Falcons made a habit of choosing to receive the ball when they win the coin toss to open the game. For the first time this season, the Falcons deferred to the second half.

They promptly kicked the ball out of bounds, continuing a season of special teams gaffes. One first down later, and the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead. They scored on each of their first four drives, a touchdown and three field goals.

The Falcons carried some momentum into the second half, tied 16-16, and took the opening drive of the third quarter 14 plays, for 44 yards and a field goal. It took up nearly half the third quarter, and they took a 19-16 lead with injuries piling up on the Cardinals' defense.

Knock the Rust Off

Drake London played in his first game since a Week 11 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Understandably, he got off to a slow start. He didn’t have a catch on his first three targets, which included a drop and a Cousins interception.

London finished with just three catches for 27 yards on eight targets. With London limited on Sunday, the Falcons leaned on...

Pitts Steps Up... Again

Over the course of the last month, tight end Kyle Pitts has looked like the player the Falcons were hoping for when they took him No. 4 overall in 2021. Pitts entered the game with the most receiving yards by a Falcons' tight end in three consecutive games.

He pushed that number to the most in four consecutive games with seven catches on nine targets for 57 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinals' Trey McBride is the second-highest-paid tight end in the NFL at $19.0 million. Most people who watched the game on Sunday would be in agreement that he was the second-best tight end on the field.

Probably not coincidentally, Pitts is setting himself up for a big pay this offseason. The Falcons would be wise to place a $15.9 million franchise tag on him while they decide if they want to do a longer contract extension or trade the suddenly valuable tight end.

Get the Ball to Bijan

The Falcons were trailing 13-3 when they took over on their own 25 in the second quarter. Cousins went to the cheat code... Bijan Robinson out of the backfield. Three plays to Robinson, two passes and a run, and it was 13-10.

Robinson added 65 yards in 91 seconds to his NFL-leading yards from scrimmage.

Bijan catch and Bijan run 💨

ATLvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/sCSBcUifYx
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

He finished the game with 168 yards, moving his season total to 2,026 yards. He joined William Andrews (1981, 1983) and Jamal Anderson (1998) as the only Falcons to break 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

Andrews' franchise record of 2,176 (16 games) in danger next week when the Falcons take on the Rams.

The Streak Continues

The Cardinals had given up the fifth-most sacks in the NFL coming into the game. Rookie James Pearce Jr. had sacks in six straight games. He added a half sack on Sunday, according to ESPN's box score. He has 8.5 sacks on the year, but Brandon Dorlus is breathing down his neck.

Dorlus leads all interior linemen in the NFC with eight sacks.

Dorlus knocking on the door of double-digit sacks from an interior line spot is one of the biggest surprises of the season.

editor's note: earlier version of this story said Pearce was shut out, when he was credited with half a sack, splitting it with Dorlus, so Dorlus has 7.5 - SK

That's the EIGHTH sack of the year for @brandon_dorlus!

The leader among NFC interior D-Linemen 😤

FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/5RYgh2PvGg
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 21, 2025

If It Weren’t for Bad Luck

Cobee Bryant got abused by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he played poorly. Future Hall of Famer Mike Evans was doing Mike Evans things, even when Bryant had good coverage.

His good play, bad luck continued on Sunday with a Jacoby Brissett touchdown pass to Michael Wilson. Bryant couldn’t have covered Wilson any better without being in his shirt. The pass was initially ruled incomplete but was overturned on replay after it appeared the ball never hit the ground as it fell from Wilson’s hands.

Bryant is due some good luck after the last two weeks.

MICHAEL WILSON WHAT A CATCH 😱

ATLvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/eh1GMHMrFx
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

Zane is Enough

Has Zane Gonzalez done enough to solidify the kicking job for next season? He was signed to a one-year, veteran minimum deal that was pro-rated starting in Week 10.

Since joining the Falcons, Gonzalez is 13/15 on field goals, including 4/6 from beyond 50 yards. Going into the offseason, re-signing Gonzalez and providing competition for him with Lenny Krieg, the German on the practice squad, seems like a good idea.

Competition is About to get an Upgrade

The Falcons finished the easiest portion of their schedule 3-2 after Sunday's win. Next week, they take on the LA Rams (11-4), who were so upset with their collapse against the Seahawks that they fired their special teams coach this week.

The Falcons will face the Rams on Monday Night Football on the 29th. Be prepared to re-live the Falcons draft-day trade that sent their 2026 first-round pick to the Rams in a deal that landed them Pearce and starting safety Xavier Watts.