Matt Bryant's missed kick gives Arizona Cardinals first home win

For the second week in a row, the Cardinals won thanks in part to a kicker, but this time, they had some help from the other side. 

Arizona won its first game at home this season 34-33, after Atlanta's 17-year veteran kicker Matt Bryant missed an extra point with just 1:53 left in the game. The Cardinals would get the ball back with a one-point lead, get a first down, and kneel it out from there. 

"To miss that kick is no good for anybody," Bryant said. "We’ve kind of dug ourselves a hole, and you don’t want to end it like that. What the team did to come back from where we were, it was just disappointing."

Outside of extra points, Bryant had been good from 29 and 44-yards out.

The game was nearly mirrored in most categories. Each team had two field goals and four touchdowns. Atlanta had 444 yards on 63 plays. Arizona had 442 yards on 66 plays, though those last three plays were all kneel downs. There was a one-yard differential in both net yards passing and in net yards rushing between the two teams. 

“I just hit it too high on the ball, and that’s why it goes left like that," Bryant said. "I missed it.”

Atlanta is now 1-5, but coach Dan Quinn and players around the locker room echoed support for Bryant. While Bryant placed the blame squarely on himself, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury attributed it to some bow-tied intervention. 

"I was thinking first home game back since Mr. B’s (Bill Bidwill's) passing, you’ve got to think he pushed that thing a little bit that way," Kingsbury said.

"You feel bad for Matt. He’s one of the best kickers to ever do it. I’m sure he’s frustrated with that, but football’s a funny game. The breaks come in cycles, and hopefully we’re in that cycle."

Cardinals defense gashed

The Falcons ran 19 plays in which they gained 10 yards or more. They had six plays in which they gained 20 yards or more. They averaged about seven yards a play, but those bigger gains routinely gashed the Cardinals' defense. 

It was the Cardinals who would leave State Farm Stadium with a win, and that will be the most important takeaway for them. Still, the Cardinals allowed the Falcons 31 first downs (four from penalties), after allowing the three previous opponents exactly 21 each. While the Falcons are not the strongest team, they do have some premier players who helped in that. 

"The Falcons have great (players) – Matt Ryan is an elite quarterback, Julio Jones and a great receiving corps," nose tackle Corey Peters said. "We knew they would make plays. We obviously want to limit them as much as possible.

"I think we did a better job in the first half than in the second half, but it was nice to make some plays at the end of the game to put ourselves in a position to try to win."

Tight end Austin Hooper led all receivers with 117 yards and a touchdown. Jones also put up a 100-plus yard game, finishing with 108 on eight catches. The two of them, along with running back Devonta Freeman and receiver Calvin Ridley, gave the Cardinals' defense some problems.

The Cardinals' offense did have plenty of big plays of its own. Six different Cardinals receivers caught passes of 20-yards or more. On one drive anchored by David Johnson, they went 79 yards in just four plays. Both defenses let up big plays throughout the game.

As far as chunkier gains, the Falcons were most explosive in the third quarter. On one drive, they had five consecutive plays of double-digit yardage, gaining 14, 12, 22, 12 and then 11 yards all in a row. Four of the five plays were passing, the other was a direct snap to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. 

There are certainly things to tighten up on defense, but there is also one quick fix on the horizon, and everyone in the Cardinals locker room is well aware. 

"Any time you give up yardage and points, you want to get better," Kingsbury said. "I think we understand where we’re at. We’ve got some young players back there, a secondary who’s banged up.

"We get (Patrick Peterson) back tomorrow, and hopefully that helps."

Tight end touchdown? Tight end touchdown.

Tight ends finding the endzone in Arizona is nothing new, but on Sunday, there was a twist. 

Early in the third quarter, Maxx Williams caught a ball short left from Kyler Murray, and ran it in the rest of the way for a 20-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown by a Cardinals tight end this season.

On top of that, prior to Sunday, the only Cardinals to catch a touchdown from Kyler Murray had been David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. Williams and running back Chase Edmonds both got into the mix in the win over Atlanta. 

"It's great to finally score, especially when you win. Because then it all actually means something," Williams said. "It's a great team win, obviously, I got my first touchdown here in Arizona, but really, it comes down to the team." 

That team showed some immediate support for Williams, both in celebrating the touchdown and praising him after the game. 

"He’s such a humble, hard working dude," wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said on Williams. "He does all the dirty work and to finally see him get in there it’s good to see those guys that work their tails off like that get rewarded with a touchdown."

His reward was not just six points for the Cardinals and a tally on the stat sheet, however. He was also met with celebratory punches from Edmonds and an actual tackle from Fitzgerald, after he had already stood back up. Perhaps he couldn't react quickly enough. He had already used up a bit of speed on the play.

"I felt like it took him forever to get there, though," Fitzgerald said, smiling. "It looked like my dad running. It was great to see him get in there. He caught it at the 25 and I thought it took him at least six seconds to get in the end zone from there, but it made it that much sweeter."

Reach the reporter at kfitzgeral@gannett.com or 480-356-6407. Follow her on Twitter @kfitz134.

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