Falcons vs. Cardinals Week 17 open thread

Today is the first game of 2023, but not the final game of the 2022 season. Atlanta gears up for their penultimate battle against an Arizona Cardinals team that might be actively tanking, given that they’re about to start fourth-string quarterback David Blough and are holding out other key players like DeAndre Hopkins. It’s the easiest path to a win this team has had in quite some time.

It’s a win they’d very much like to have. The Falcons haven’t had a victory in quite a while, and they have yet to get their first one with Desmond Ridder under center. Being able to show they’re capable of beating a bad team—a team that is, certainly with its injuries, worse than Atlanta—would be a confidence booster with the offseason right around the corner and a chance to play spoiler against the Buccaneers looming in Week 18.

We’ll hope for a good game, at the very least, and as always you’ll be using this as your open thread for the game ahead. Go Falcons!