Cardinals’ Big-Play Defense Keys Victory, 24-13 : NFC: Mack and Turner make the difference for second week in a row as Phoenix beats Atlanta.

For the second consecutive week, Phoenix Cardinal defensive backs Cedric Mack and Marcus Turner made big plays to key a victory.

Mack set up the go-ahead touchdown with an interception and Turner returned an interception 47 yards for a clinching touchdown as the Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-13, Sunday for their third consecutive victory.

“Both were big plays,” Mack said. “When Marcus made his I knew it was over.”

Last week, in a 20-17 victory over Indianapolis, Mack intercepted a fourth-quarter pass by Jeff George and lateraled to Turner, who ran 21 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Both interceptions against the Falcons (3-10) were made on passes by Scott Campbell, making his first start in place of Chris Miller, who suffered a broken right collarbone last week at Tampa Bay.

Mack picked off Campbell’s pass at the Phoenix 36 and returned it 39 yards, where laterals to Jay Taylor and Turner added seven yards to the return to the Falcons’ 18.

It took the Cardinals (5-8) five plays to score, with Anthony Thompson running it in from the one less than five minutes into the third quarter.

Thompson rushed for 96 yards in 26 carries.

Turner’s return came with 4:51 remaining, giving the Cardinals an 11-point cushion that ensured the Falcons’ sixth consecutive defeat.

“I just made a perfect read and it was there,” Turner said of his touchdown. “The defense was putting a lot of pressure on them and you could see they were getting frustrated. That was to our advantage.”

Atlanta Coach Jerry Glanville said his team didn’t play like it has in recent weeks, when the Falcons were in games to the end.

“I think this is the first Sunday where we stepped the wrong way,” Glanville said. “We didn’t prove we were better than last week. We are fortunate that we have three games left to prove we can get better.”

Phoenix drove 83 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, scoring on a 45-yard pass play from Timm Rosenbach to Ricky Proehl. Rosenbach, who completed 15 of 29 passes for 227 yards, completed three passes for 78 yards in the drive.

The Cardinals also got a 37-yard field goal from Al Del Greco on the final play of the first half, when Atlanta was charged with encroachment, stopping the clock on fourth down with one second left.

Atlanta cut its deficit to 17-13 when Greg Davis kicked a 24-yard field goal with 9:30 left, capping a 73-yard drive that started on a 29-yard pass play from Campbell to Michael Haynes.

Davis also had a 41-yard field goal less than four minutes into the game after Bobby Butler recovered a fumble by Thompson on the Phoenix 48.

Atlanta’s 57-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter lasted only two plays after Deion Sanders returned a kickoff 39 yards.

Running back Keith Jones, who passed for four touchdowns at Illinois, threw to wide receiver Andre Rison for 37-yard play to the Cardinals’ 20. On the next play, Campbell hooked up with Gary Wilkins just beyond the line of scrimmage and Wilkins ran into the end zone.

Rison had three catches for 65 yards and has 71 receptions for 1,059 yards this season. He is only the fourth Falcon ever to have more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

Defensive end Dexter Manley saw action for the Cardinals on passing situations, his first playing time since being suspended last year for a third violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.