Archer Is Off Mark, but Falcons Beat Cardinals, 33-13

David Archer doesn’t expect to have glowing statistics each week. He just wants good enough numbers to win.

That’s what he had as the Atlanta Falcons downed the St. Louis Cardinals, 33-13, Sunday.

Archer completed only 10 of 24 passes for 160 yards, but 2 of his throws went for touchdowns and he also had some key runs to keep drives alive.

“I guess I’d rate it kind of rag tag, not perfect,” he said of his individual effort. “Certainly not the statistics of the game last week (13 of 16 for 207 yards in a 31-10 win over New Orleans), but I made the big plays on third down and made some key runs.

“That’s what this quarterback has to do. I was determined not to throw an interception. We didn’t turn the ball over, that was the key.”

Archer connected with Charlie Brown on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and then put the game away with a 22-yarder to Anthony Allen with 5:59 left in the game.

The Falcons never trailed, scoring twice in less than five minutes on their first two possessions.

“Atlanta pounded the ball and we couldn’t get it back,” St. Louis Coach Gene Stallings said.

Gerald Riggs, who had 111 yards in 29 carries, scored on a one-yard run to cap a game-opening 78-yard drive. Brown’s touchdown reception came on the next possession after Joel Williams had returned an interception four yards to the St. Louis 38.

The Falcons’ William Andrews, who sat out the last two seasons with a severe knee injury, scored his first touchdown since coming back, a one-yard plunge with 1:04 to play.

It was the fourth consecutive regular-season victory in a two-year span for the Falcons, now 2-0 in a season for the first time since 1981. St. Louis is now 0-2.

The game attracted a crowd of 46,463, the largest home attendance for the Falcons since 52,861 watched a game against the Rams in the eighth week of the 1984 season.