ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons put last week’s ugly loss behind them, rallying behind their embattled coach and delivering their best all-around performance of the season.

Wide receiver Julio Jones and kicker Matt Bryant enjoyed career days, leading the Falcons to an easy 29-18 win over the fading Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

Jones caught 10 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, and Bryant made five field goals for the Falcons, who jumped out to a big lead and were never seriously challenged.

Atlanta coach Mike Smith came under fire last week for mismanaging a late-game situation in a last-second loss to the Cleveland Browns. Instead of folding, Smith’s team came out inspired against the Cardinals, who dropped their second game in a row since losing starting quarterback Carson Palmer to a knee injury.

“When we’re consistent and play consistent football, coach consistent football, we feel like we’re a pretty good team,” Smith said.

The Falcons (5-7) are tied for first place with the New Orleans Saints in the downtrodden NFC South and already own a win over New Orleans. Atlanta is heading into a defining three-game stretch: next Monday at the Green Bay Packers, Dec. 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dec. 21 at New Orleans.

The Cardinals (9-3) still hold a one-game lead on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. They host the Kansas City Chiefs next week before finishing with three division games, two of which are on the road.

“We obviously did not come out with the emotion and intensity that I thought we would in this ball game,” Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. “That was the big message now in the locker room: When you are looking for answers, look in the mirror; don’t look anywhere else and don’t lie to yourself.”

Quarterback Drew Stanton didn’t get the Cardinals’ offense into the end zone until late in the fourth quarter, after the outcome was decided. Stanton completed 24 of 39 passes for 294 yards, and he threw two interceptions against an Atlanta defense that entered the game ranked last in the NFL against the pass. Stanton’s touchdown pass went to running back Stepfan Taylor.

Stanton said he remains confident, despite the struggles, but knows he’s got to get the offense clicking if they’re going to stay in the hunt.

“We’re still in good position, but we’ve got to find a way to fix third down and put up points,” Stanton said. “We haven’t done that over the course of the last couple of weeks, but it’s just a matter of coming back to work and trying to find a way to correct those things we made mistakes on and go from there.”

The Cardinals converted only one of seven third downs.

The Falcons forced three turnovers and held the Cardinals to 329 total yards, most coming in garbage time.

What the Falcons said:

“Matt (Bryant) is an offensive weapon, simply because when he gets an opportunity to kick the ball on a field goal attempt, he’s going to make it. He’s got very good range for a guy that’s been in the league for a long time. Sometimes the range goes down. He has a very good strong leg, and he’s a very accurate kicker, and he’s helped us win a lot of football games.” — coach Mike Smith.

What the Cardinals said:

“We weren’t good enough on third downs. When we’re having success in offense, we’re sustaining drives. In the previous month, we were reaching our goals and we have the past two weeks. That’s something we need to get back to doing.” — quarterback Drew Stanton.

“(Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones) wasn’t doing nothing special. He just made some good catches. At the end of the day, pressure had to get there, but at the same time, I have to cover my guy.” –cornerback Patrick Peterson.

What we learned about the Falcons:

1. Atlanta, behind the veteran leadership of quarterback Matt Ryan, is a resilient team. It would have been very easy for coach Mike Smith to lose his team after he mismanaged late-game situation in last week’s home loss to the Cleveland Browns. But the Falcons responded with one of their best all-around performances of the season and, at 5-7, are in first place in the downtrodden NFC South.

2. Wide receiver Julio Jones has developed into the kind of weapon that the Falcons envisioned when they traded up to get the Alabama product in the 2011 draft. Jones caught 10 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals and went over 1,000 yards receiving on the season.

–WR Julio Jones set a career high for receiving yards with 189 on 10 catches. He had a long of 41 yards and scored on a 32-yard pass from quarterback Matt Ryan.

–RB Steven Jackson had his best game of the season, rushing for 101 yards on 18 carries. His 55-yard burst on the opening possession of the game setup the Falcons’ first score and ignited the team’s fast start.

–K Matt Bryant made a career-high five field goals and scored a career-high 17 points. Bryant made field goals of 20, 23, 21, 45 and 28 yards.

What we learned about the Cardinals:

1. Their breakthrough season is unraveling. Arizona won nine of its first 10 games, but has not played well the past two weeks since quarterback Carson Palmer was lost for the season to a knee injury. At 9-3, the Cardinals still have a one-game lead in the rugged NFC West, but unless backup quarterback Drew Stanton improves his play, Arizona is going to have trouble down the stretch. Stanton struggled to move the ball against an Atlanta defense that entered the game last in the NFL against the past. He’s thrown one touchdown with three interceptions that past two weeks.

2. The Cardinals’ running game continues to be a weak link, which is making life more difficult for Stanton and the passing game. Arizona rushed for only 35 yards against the Falcons and saw leading rusher Andre Ellington leave the game in the first half with a hip injury.

–CB Tyrann Mathieu broke his left thumb in the first half against the Falcons and did not return. His thumb was in a cast after the game.

–WR Larry Fitzgerald missed his second straight game with an MCL sprain. With Fitzgerald sidelined, the Cardinals were missing a big-play threat. Wide receiver Jaron Brown led the Cardinals with seven receptions for 75 yards.

–RB Andre Ellington left the game in the first half with what was being described as a hip pointer and did not return. Ellington finished with just 12 yards on five carriers before suffering the injury. In his absence, Marion Grice led the Cardinals just 16 yards rushing.