ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons (5-9) forced three turnovers and sacked Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen seven times, a single-game season high for both teams, as the Falcons routed the Cardinals 40-14 on Sunday.
Arizona (3-11) has dropped two straight and five of six under first-year coach Steve Wilks.
Playing behind a makeshift offense line that has lost six players to injured reserve, Rosen was under duress all afternoon and finished with a 38.4 passer rating. He got the Cardinals off to a fast start with running back David Johnson catching two long passes to set up a short TD run that made it 7-0, but Arizona was essentially done after Deion Jones scored a touchdown for the third time in eight career interceptions.
Rosen was removed from the game in the fourth quarter and replaced by backup QB Mike Glennon, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Wilks said Rosen will start next week vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
In his fourth game back after spending most of the season sidelined by a foot injury, Jones forced a 7-all tie in the first quarter, snagging Vic Beasley's batted ball from the air and running 41 yards for Atlanta's second defensive TD of the season. The third-year linebacker spent the first part of the game covering Johnson and was in the left flats shading the running back when Beasley tipped Rosen's pass.
It feels like a couple of months have passed since Arizona enjoyed a season highlight under Wilks, a 20-17 win at Green Bay two weeks ago. The Cardinals were flat last week at home against Detroit and gave themselves almost no chance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Even with so many injuries, the performance was so uninspiring that Wilks might be wondering if he will return for a second season. Arizona showed why it began the day with the league's worst scoring offense, worst passing attack and second-worst ground game.
