Big Plays From Boldin and Fitzgerald, but Falcons Lead Cardinals at Half

The first half of the Cardinals-Falcons game was characterized by big plays from Arizona receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald and Arizona running back Edgerrin James looking revitalized. But the Falcons went on a late flurry to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.

The Falcons scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the half. The first, a seven-yard run by Michael Turner, came on a 14-play, 77-yard drive on which the Atlanta offense looked like it had finally figured out the Arizona defense after a first quarter in which the Falcons couldn't get anything going. The second touchdown drive covered just 23 yards and followed a Kurt Warner interception.

Warner's numbers don't look too impressive at first glance -- he completed just six of his 15 passes -- but the Cardinals have had two huge plays in the passing game. The first was a 41-yard touchdown catch by Fitzgerald (pictured above) that came on a flea flicker. The second was a short pass that Boldin turned into a 71-yard touchdown, racing down the sideline and outrunning the Atlanta secondary.

The flea flicker to Fitzgerald worked in part because the Falcons' defense was concerned about James -- a shocking development, considering that James has contributed almost nothing to the Cardinals' offense this season and has already said he won't be back next year. But James has surprisingly looked good, with six carries for 33 yards.

Turner, however, has been pedestrian, aside from that touchdown run. On his other 14 carries, he has just 35 yards. If Turner can get things going in the second half, the Falcons should be able to build on their lead. But the Cardinals have a good chance of coming from behind, especially if James outplays Turner. Who would have seen that coming?