WARNER'S WORLD

Just five times in NFL history has a team had three receivers with 75 or more receptions in a season. Kurt Warner has been the quarterback of three of those five teams, including this year's Cardinals. He has done it with this Cardinals team (Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston), the 2000 Rams (Torry Holt, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce) and the 2002 Rams (Bruce, Holt, Faulk). The other two teams were the 2002 Raiders and the 1989 Redskins.

WILD SUCCESS

The Falcons will be playing in their fifth wild-card game in franchise history. They enter with a 3-1 record.

LOCAL CONNECTION

Arizona cornerback Roderick Hold was raised in Columbus, Ga. He attended Carver High and was a walk-on at Auburn.

MATCHUPS

The Cardinals are ranked last the in the NFL --- No. 32 --- in run offense. They average 73.6 yards a game. Edgerrin James, a non-starter for much of the season, leads the team in rushing with 514 yards. The Falcons are No. 25 in the league in run defense, allowing 127.5 yards a game.

THEY SAID IT

"The Falcons are 11-5 and should not be taken lightly. They played in a punishing division. They come to Arizona as road favorites. But their rise to prominence is even more improbable than the Cardinals'. Their quarterback is a rookie, and so is their coach. Expectations must be somewhat muted, and if the visitors can't run the ball, they're going back home for good. It could be that simple. Yet this also is a [Cardinals] defense that has been mauled, manhandled and ripped to shreds by smart coaching. It's most telling that the 2008 Cardinals set a proud franchise record for most points scored, and their grand total of 427 was exactly one more point than the defense allowed."

--- DAN BICKLEY, The Arizona Republic

TICKETS ANYONE?

As of Tuesday, the Cardinals reported that 6,500 tickets remained for Saturday's game. The tickets needed to be sold by 4:30 on Wednesday or the game would be blacked out in Arizona. The team could have filed an extension with the NFL to have the deadline pushed back until 4:30 p.m. today. This after the Cardinals have sold out every preseason and regular-season game at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

ODDS ARE

The line continues to have the Falcons as a 2 1/2-point favorite at Arizona.