The Atlanta Falcons clinched a home-field advantage through out the playoffs after their 31-18 victory at Ford Field over the Detroit Lions.

Although losing, star wideout Calvin Johnson stole the show with a record breaking night. Johnson caught 11 passes for 225 yards. His performance, helped him surpass Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice’s NFL receiving yards record. Johnson has accumulated 1,892 yards and will look to hit 2,000 in the season finale.

He also broke the record for most consecutive 100-yard games (8), tied the record for 100-yard games in a season (11), broke the record for consecutive 10-catch games (4) and he broke the record for most receptions in a month (44).

Detroit quarterback, Matthew Stafford finished the game 37 of 56 for 443 yards and one interception. Stafford, has attempted 685 pass attempts, just six away from breaking Drew Beldsoe’s NFL single season passing attempts record. Stafford is also 305 yards away from compiling 5,000 passing yards in consecutive seasons and becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to do so.

As for the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Matt Ryan had an extremely efficient evening. Ryan completed 25 of 32 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Ryan’s 142.6 passer rating tied his season best that he set last week.

Roddy White, was probable with a knee injury but performed exceptionally well. White lead the Falcons with eight catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver, Julio Jones also caught seven passes for 71 yards and scored his 10th touchdown of the year.

The Falcons are 7-0 at home this season and 33-6 at the Georgia Dome in the regular season since the 2008 season. The last time the Falcons clinched the No.1 seed and home field advantage was in 2010 where they were demolished  by the Green Bay Packers 48-21.

Atlanta will look to end the season 8-0 at home and will face divisional rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Detroit will look to continue to break and expand more records in their season finale against the divisional rivals the Chicago Bears.

Image Courtesy : Atlanta Falcons

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The Arizona Cardinals started the season 4-0, and have since been on a nine-game losing skid. The Cardinals finally snapped their losing streak after their 38-10 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The Detroit Lions took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter with a Mikel Leshoure 1-yard touchdown run. Arizona answered back on the ensuing drive and running back Beanie Wells punched in a five yard touchdown to tie the game up.

Arizona’s defense played extraordinarily well and inevitably led the Cardinals to victory. The Cardinals forced four turnovers: three interceptions and one fumble. Arizona picked off Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford for the first time in the second quarter. Cornerback Patrick Peterson intercepted Stafford and returned it 31 yards.

The Cardinals capitalized on that interception and Wells punched in a 1-yard run. Seconds before the end of the first-half safety Rashard Johnson intercepted Stafford and returned it for a 53 yard touchdown to give the Cardinals a 21-7 lead going into halftime.

Cornerback Greg Toler picked off Stafford in the fourth quarter and returned it 102 yards for a score and put the Cardinals comfortably ahead 31-10. Wells put the icing on the cake with a 31-yard run with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

Wells finished the game with 67 yards along with three touchdowns.

Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley completed 14 of 21 passes for 104 yards and threw one interception. Lindley has played in five games and has yet to throw his first NFL touchdown.

As for Stafford, he completed 24 of 50 passes for 246 yards. This was Stafford’s third game this season without throwing a touchdown pass, two of those three games resulted in loses.

Star wideout Calvin Johnson may be the only reason why the Lions are still getting some attention despite a six-game losing streak. Johnson hauled in 10 receptions for 121 yards. This was his seventh consecutive game with 100+ receiving yards — he still needs 182 yards to break Jerry Rice’s NFL single season receiving yard record.

Johnson will look to get closer to Rice’s record next week as the Detroit Lions will welcome the Atlanta Falcons to Ford Field. As for the Cardinals, they will welcome the Chicago Bears.

Image Courtesy : Arizona Cardinals

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