Desmond Ridder, Falcons Lead David Blough's Cardinals at Halftime

The Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals have finished the first 30 minutes of play in Sunday's contest.

After a start, the Atlanta Falcons (5-10) will head the locker room with a 14-13 lead over the Arizona Cardinals (4-11) in Sunday afternoon's contest inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Cardinals quarterback David Blough, making his first start since Dec. 19, 2019 - some 1,099 days ago - performed better than expected in the first half, finishing 15 of 20 for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Blough started strong, leading a 14-play drive in which he began five of five, ultimately stalling in the red zone after a holding penalty on Arizona. After a six-and-a-half-minute drive, the Cardinals settled for a Matt Prater field goal, taking a 3-0 lead.

The Falcons and rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder responded with a long drive of their own, going 75 yards on 16 plays and taking nearly 10 minutes off the clock, finishing with a five-yard touchdown run from rookie Tyler Allgeier.

Atlanta's defense forced an Arizona punt on the ensuing possession, but its offense followed up the long drive with just one play - a fumbled exchange between Ridder and center Drew Dalman.

The Cardinals capitalized, finding paydirt just two plays later, as Blough hit rookie tight end Trey McBride for a four-yard touchdown.

But Ridder, who's been praised for his poise time and again, settled in, guiding a 12-play, 66-yard drive that killed seven minutes of clock ... and still fell short. On 4th and 2, Atlanta opted to go for it, and rather than giving Allgeier the rock, let Ridder throw - and his pass to star rookie receiver Drake London wasn't particularly close.

The Falcons defense responded, forcing a quick three-and-out and giving its offense a prime two-minute drill ... but the special teams unit had different plans, with safety Richie Grant blocking Arizona's punt.

Atlanta had its second one-play drive of the day, but this time for all of the right reasons, as running back Cordarrelle Patterson punched it in from five yards out, giving the Falcons a 14-10 lead.

The Cardinals, led by running back James Conner, put together a 10-play, 62-yard drive in a two-minute situation, effectively bringing the half to a close with a 36-yard field goal from Prater that cut Atlanta's lead to 14-13.

Ridder finished 12 of 14 for 97 yards while Allgeier led the ground game with eight carries for 41 yards and a score.

The Falcons, looking to finish the season strong, are set to receive the ball to start the second half.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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