New QB, Same Struggles: Saints Defeat Desmond Ridder's Falcons

The debut of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder did not go as plan, as the offense struggled to move the ball through the air.

The 21-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints featured many of the same problems for the Atlanta Falcons offense. Inconsistency in the passing game saw Desmond Ridder begin the game with five straight incompletions. 

Head coach Arthur Smith made a change at quarterback after the bye week, as the Falcons turned to rookie quarterback Ridder, who replaced a struggling Marcus Mariota. With a new signal caller, the Falcons hoped for new results. 

Smith and the Falcons were aggressive offensively from the get-go. Even with a rookie making his debut, Ridder was able to take shots downfield. However, his first throw was an incompletion on a deep ball intended for Cordarrelle Patterson. The rookie didn't look settled until the Falcons started to work the quick game, trying to get Ridder easy completions. 

It seemed like the Falcons abandoned their strength, the running game, hoping to find magic through the air. That was until the Falcons' final drive of the first half saw them rely heavily on their ground game. 

That trend continued into the second half as the run game accounted for 70 of the 75-yard touchdown scoring drive. As the Falcons' ground game surged, the defense stiffened after giving up a second Juwan Johnson touchdown in the third quarter.

Atlanta forced two straight punts from the Saints, one of which saw Patterson find the endzone to cut the deficit to 21-18. 

Ridder and the offense needed another score, but an unfortunate bounce of the ball derailed a comeback. On 4th-and-5, Ridder found his favorite target London for a first down, who was then hit, which popped the ball loose and into the possession of the Saints. 

Ridder completed 13 of his 26 passes for 97 yards in the loss to the Saints, the third straight defeat for the Falcons as they lose ground in the NFC South race.

A rookie quarterback shouldn't be expected to be as good as Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes in his first NFL start. Even those guys struggled, so Ridder can't be written off just yet.

But today provides a baseline and now Ridder can work towards some progress when he takes the field Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens at 1 p.m.

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