Cardinals boot Falcons in OT, 30-27

Exciting as it was, the Cardinals’ overtime win over the lowly Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was meaningless. Well, unless you’re one of those folks who’ll be counting ticket sales next season.

See a slideshow of the game.

With a home crowd growing restless and even ornery — the boos rained down on the Cardinals for the first time this season — the Cardinals misplaced a 24-14 halftime lead, tied the score as time expired in regulation, then nipped the Falcons 30-27 in the extra period at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The win gives the Cardinals (7-8) a chance for a break-even season. They close out Sunday at home vs. the equally lowly St. Louis Rams.

If they win, the Cardinals can claim one of the franchise’s three best seasons in their 20 years in Arizona.

If they do, they’ll remember eking out this win over the Falcons (3-12) by the narrowest of margins.

They rolled to a 24-14 lead in more or less predictable fashion, then went dead in the second half.

Falcons quarterback Chris Redman picked apart the Cards’ depleted secondary.

What was more surprising is that they couldn’t score against the Falcons’ low-rated defense.

Though the Cardinals have said they want to run the ball with a lead, their third-quarter tally listed 10 passes and just five runs (for 20 yards).

Cardinals players say they executed poorly, with receiver Anquan Boldin adding, “I think we just got a little too relaxed.”

Coach Ken Whisenhunt said, “I didn’t do a very good job in the play-calling.”

At times they got unlucky, such as when the Cardinals ran the ball right into a blitz and lost 2 yards.

At times, “They were selling out to stop (the run). In that situation you have to hit some passes, and we didn’t do that,” Whisenhunt said.

While the Cardinals were floundering, Redman rallied his team to a 27-24 lead with 1:38 left.

But the Cardinals, who have been criticized for clock management this season, this time had all their timeouts.

So quarterback Kurt Warner — who completed 36 of 53 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions — drove 58 yards on nine plays to set up Neil Rackers’ 29-yard field goal as time expired.

Then came the game’s biggest single play: The overtime coin flip.

The Falcons, as the visiting team, had the right to make the call. They picked tails.

The coin came up heads.

And once again, Warner was on target. He hit a 25-yard pass to Anquan Boldin (who had a spectacular game with 13 catches for 162 yards).

That fueled a 10-play, 58-yard drive to set up Rackers’ 31-yard game winner.

And the Cardinals could exhale while the boos disappeared.