Delusion Is Back In Style

Arizona's season has reached the point where I'm kidding myself with the rationales I come up with to explain how they might win. Against Atlanta, I convinced myself the Cardinals could control the clock against the Falcons' less-than-spectacular defense, giving their own defense enough of a breather to blunt the Falcons' offense.

Yeah, not so much. Falcons 38, Arizona 19.

It seems like it ought to have been closer. The Falcons did manage 116 yards on the ground, but it took 30 carries. Both teams had one turnover. Palmer was only sacked twice. And the game was close at halftime. But the Falcons won time of possession by about 9 minutes, they were a little better on 3rd down, and didn't kill themselves with as many penalties as the Cardinals did, and here we are. Not much else to say, really.