The Atlanta Falcons announced plans to start Taylor Heinicke for their game against the Indianapolis Colts; thereby sending embattled quarterback Desmond Ridder to the bench for the second time this season, according to various sources.
Ridder has committed 16 turnovers, tied for fifth-most in the NFL. Yes, turnovers aren’t ideal, but the occurrences of the turnovers have been catastrophic, with six of them coming in the red zone. Ridder has been exceptionally poor on the road. He’s completed just 59.4 percent of his passes for 162.6 yards per game as a road starter in his two seasons.
During the fourth quarter of the Falcons’ last game against the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta had the ball on the Panthers’ 18 yard line. A field goal would have surely iced the game given the inept play by Carolina up to that point.
Ridder rolled to his left and threw back toward the middle of the field toward Cordarrelle Patterson. It was a horrific decision. Panthers safety Xavier Woods would pick off Ridder’s pass with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter. The Panthers wouldn’t give the ball up as they drove for a game-winning field goal as time expired.
“I was trying to get back inside,” Ridder said, via the team’s website. “Any time you’re throwing late over the middle, it’s probably not a good idea. I was trying to make a play, and I tried to do too much.”
He didn’t try to do too much. He did entirely too much.
The Falcons managed only 204 yards of offense Sunday, albeit with the game being played in driving rain. What was also damning about Sunday’s performance was Atlanta could only muster 52 rushing yards on 31 carries (1.7 yards per carry).
The Atlanta Falcons have wonderful skill position players that have been rendered ineffective due to Ridder’s play and the indecisive, ineffective and unconvincing play calling by head coach Arthur Smith. Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson had a combined six receptions and 64 yards Sunday afternoon.
With that in mind, Smith admitted he’s heard the calls for his ouster.
“That’s what you sign up for, right,” Smith said Monday. “I don’t mean that to sound like bravado, but you want these jobs. You deal with the consequences.”
There are only 32 of those jobs in America.
Without any regard for the conclusion of the NFC South division title race, the Falcons no longer have any trust in Desmond Ridder. In two weeks, Atlanta went from leading the NFC South to now possessing a scant chance of making the playoffs. The Falcons are +750 longshots to win the division, +600 to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and -900 to miss out again.
Ridder’s ten interceptions and eleven fumbles plus Smith’s insistence on being proven right regarding his trust in the quarterback has the Falcons in limbo once again.
“There’s a lot of things — nothing’s ever set in stone,” Smith said after Sunday’s game about whether he would stick with Ridder. “You’ve got to evaluate and adapt. … We got to find a way and we need to win.”
Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy once said, “If you start listening to the fans, soon you’re going to be sitting with them.” In Arthur Smith’s case, he could be sitting with the fans on January 8, 2024.