Edge at running back propels Cardinals

Jan 4, 2009 - 3:40 AM By Tom Torrisi PA SportsTicker Pro Football Editor

GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Falcons expected to have a wide advantage at running back in Saturday's NFC wild card game, but it was the Arizona Cardinals who enjoyed the Edge.

Edgerrin James, buried deep on the bench for the last two-thirds of the season, rushed for 73 yards on 16 carries to help the Cardinals post a 30-24 victory over Atlanta.

It was an unexpected output for the former Pro Bowl running back, who had a total of 11 carries in an eight-game span beginning November 2, and added balance to Arizona's vaunted passing attack.

"I don't I have anything to prove. Just look at what I have done over my career," said James, who earlier in the week said he would not return to the team next season because of his unhappiness with his reduced role in the offense. "There is no secret what type of running back I am. Finally I was put in a position to actually do that, run my own game."

Rookie Tim Hightower, who had supplanted James in the starting lineup until the regular-season finale, added 23 yards and a touchdown on six carries as the Cardinals averaged 4.4 yards per rush.

That was the kind of performance the Falcons were expecting out of Michael Turner, who finished second in the league in rushing with 1,699 yards, including a pair of 200-yard efforts.

But Arizona's defense, attacking the line of scrimmage to stop the run, held Turner to 42 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

"It seemed like they had guys everywhere," Turner said. "They crowded the line of scrimmage, they had a game plan and it looked like they knew what play we were about to run."

"That is one of those chips in our shoulder, stopping Michael Turner," Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. "We heard all week about how we can't stop the run and how we (stink). We took that as a challenge and I think he had a career low in yards."

James, meanwhile, flashed the form from his glory days with the Indianapolis Colts and ran for 21 yards on his first three carries, leading directly to Arizona's first touchdown.

After James' three straight runs, the Cardinals attempted a flea-flicker, with Pro Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner connecting with Larry Fitzgerald on a 42-yard touchdown pass 4 1/2 minutes into the contest.

"You know we would not have been able to do what we did if we weren't able to run the ball consistently," Fitzgerald said. "We ran the ball when we needed to run it."

The biggest contribution from James and Hightower, though, came in the second half as Arizona erased a 17-14 halftime deficit.

After watching Atlanta hold the ball for 21:19 in the opening half, the Cardinals used the running game to play keep-away in the second half, allowing the Falcons to maintain possession for just 8:39.

James and Hightower split eight carries on a 14-play, 76-yard march in the third quarter that Hightower capped with a 4-yard run to make it 28-17.

"That is the thing about running the ball, you get comfortable and you can do things that you haven't been able to do," James said. "It's not the way you start, it's the way you finish."