Atlanta Falcons Ride Bijan Robinson's Big Day to Win vs. New Orleans Saints: 4 Takeaways
The Atlanta Falcons broke their three-game losing streak on Sunday with a 24-15 win over the New Orleans Saints. With the win, Atlanta has improved to 5-6 on the season; they also regained control of the race for the NFC South as they jumped the Saints for first place in the division.
While it wasn't always pretty for the Falcons, they picked up the win nonetheless. So, before the Falcons turn the page to preparations for their next game against the New York Jets, here are four takeaways.
Riding With Ridder?
Coming out of the bye week, many questions surrounded the Falcons. One of the biggest was at quarterback as coach Arthur Smith announced that he'd return to Desmond Ridder as the starter versus the Saints. While Ridder did see action in the Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, where he led a touchdown drive that saw him scramble for a 12-yard score, it was only a limited showing.
However, Sunday provided the opportunity for a bigger sample size from the formerly benched quarterback. After turnovers plagued him in the weeks leading up to the switch in favor of Heinicke, Ridder threw two interceptions against the Saints, both to Tyrann Mathieu.
While many can debate what happened on the first interception, which came right before halftime with the Falcons in the redzone, the second pick was completely on the second-year quarterback as he threw an ill-advised pass to a tightly covered Van Jefferson, that Mathieu made him pay for.
Turnovers aside, though, Ridder did show some improvement, most notably with his legs, as he picked up 30 yards on seven attempts. His ability to get out of the pocket and scramble gave the Saints' defense trouble as he helped extend drives for the Falcons.
Bend, But Don't Break
While the Falcons' three-game losing streak that just ended may not show it, along with the fact that the Saints compiled 444 total yards, the Falcons' defense has been much improved under first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.
The Saints offense was held to 15 points on Sunday despite never finding the endzone. Saints kicker Blake Grupe was kept busy with six field goal attempts during the game, which he connected on his first five.
Any day you can hold an opposing offense out of the endzone is a great day for the defense, especially considering the Saints had drives that reached the Falcons' side of the 50-yard line eight times. Three of those eight saw the Saints' drives stall out in the Falcons' redzone.
Bijan's Big Day
Nov 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) catches a touchdown pass against the New Orleans Saints in the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
A big criticism of the Falcons offense heading into the bye week was the distribution of touches. Many felt that the Falcons were not getting their best playmakers the football in the red area, which was a contributing factor to their struggles inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Did the Falcons improve?
Not exactly, they had two attempts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and only scored a touchdown on one of those. However, they did get one of their best playmakers, Bijan Robinson, the football in key spots, both of which resulted in touchdowns.
The first score for the rookie back came on a 10-yard run in the redzone for the Falcons, a position where, in weeks past, they opted for Tyler Allgeier.
Then, later in the game, as the Falcons were trying to extend their lead, Ridder found Robinson for a 26-yard touchdown pass, who outran a Saints linebacker in man-to-man coverage as New Orleans dialed up a blitz.
Robinson finished the day with 123 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns on 19 touches.
Best Offseason Signing?
The sixth-year safety, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals, Jessie Bates, continues to make his impact felt on the backend of the Falcons' defense since signing in free agency this past offseason. Going into Sunday's game, Bates already had five total takeaways with two forced fumbles and three interceptions.
Bates added to that total versus the Saints, as he recorded his fourth interception of the season, jumping a Derek Carr pass in the redzone before returning it 92 yards for a Falcons touchdown.
Then, following Ridder's second interception, which gave the Saints good starting field position right near midfield, he forced a fumble on a Taysom Hill reception to give the Falcons the ball back.
