Following an emotional 16-13 road win over Tampa Bay, the Atlanta Falcons find themselves in unfamiliar territory in the NFC South: first place.
Despite three red-zone fumbles by Desmond Ridder, Atlanta’s defense made plays when it had to, and so did its second-year quarterback on the five-play, 42-yard game-winning drive, as the Falcons (4-3, 2-0 NFC South) won on a late field goal by Younghoe Koo for the third time this season.
“I’ll say this about Des: He sat in there and delivered some big-time throws, especially when we needed it late,” head coach Arthur Smith said Monday.
“At the end of the day, we found a way,” Smith added. “Koo, as he continues to do, is clutch. Our guys made big plays at big moments. It’s a resilient group.”
The past two weeks, Ridder has thrown three interceptions and lost three fumbles. But on the bright side, in that span he completed 47 of 72 passes for 557 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 56 yards and a score.
“It’s stuff we have to clean up,” Smith said. “I thought the decision-making in the pocket was pretty good.”
If it weren’t for the three costly turnovers by Ridder, especially two on the goal line, Atlanta would’ve likely cruised to a win over the rival Bucs (3-3, 1-1). The same could be said for the loss against the Washington Commanders in Week 6.
“We certainly know how to make it hard on ourselves,” Smith said.
Ridder has only made 11 starts in the NFL. When the Falcons hit the road to take on the Tennessee Titans (2-4) Sunday, it will be the sixth road start of his career.
The Titans have lost two straight games, but they enter the matchup with the Falcons fresh off a bye week. Veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill has passed for 1,128 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. But his status for the Atlanta game is up in the air (high ankle sprain) so the Falcons may see dual-threat Malik Willis or rookie Will Levis behind center.
Derrick Henry leads the Titans in rushing (425 yards, three touchdowns), but rookie Tyjae Spears (5.5 yards per carry) has been impressive as a change-of-pace back.
Veteran DeAndre Hopkins leads the Titans in receptions (27) and yards (376) but has yet to find the end zone this season. Tennessee owns one of the worst offenses in the league, ranked 28th in total offense (283.5 yards per game) and 25th in scoring offense (17.3 points per game).
Despite having four wins, Atlanta is averaging just 16.4 points per game, ranked 29th in the league.
–Smith was informed prior to the game against Tampa Bay that rookie running back Bijan Robinson “wasn’t feeling like himself.” Robinson had just one carry for three yards. He leads the Falcons in rushing (404 yards) and is fourth on the team in receiving (26 catches for 189 yards and two scores).
–Undrafted free agent linebacker Nate Landman had a team-high 12 tackles and forced a fumble against the Bucs. It was the second straight game he led the team in tackles.
–Field Level Media