Atlanta Falcons Beat Houston Texans: 3 Key Takeaways From Week 5 Win

Noteworthy observations from the Atlanta Falcons Week 5 win over the Houston Texans.

Coming off of a two-game losing streak, many would have expected that in their first game back at home, the key to the Atlanta Falcons upsetting the surging Houston Texans would be going back to their run game, but this game played out differently than most expected.

Here are three takeaways from Atlanta’s win.

Desmond Ridder Deserves His Flowers

Entering this game, fans debated whether Ridder deserved to remain as the Falcons starting quarterback following the team’s recent displays of stagnant offense. However, an underrated aspect of Ridder’s game is how well he plays at home.

In college, Ridder was undefeated at home playing for the Cincinnati Bearcats. Ridder has five wins through nine NFL games, all of which have been at home.

Today was a perfect example of the duality of Ridder. With his job on the line, he played like a completely different man than a week ago.

Against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, Ridder had three turnovers, a quarterback rating of 9.1, threw for just 191 yards, and one touchdown. Against the Texans, he had no turnovers, an 81.2 quarterback rating, threw for 329 yards and a touchdown.

The difference between a win and a loss in the NFL is often turnovers. With his back against the wall this week, Ridder played smart football, and although Bijan Robinson didn’t have his greatest game, Ridder’s arm helped lead Atlanta to a win, temporarily quieting his doubters.

The Atlanta Falcons bounced back in a comeback victory against the Houston Texans thanks largely to their defense forcing field goals throughout the game / USA Today Sports

The Defense is Clicking

Going up against current rookie of the year favorite, quarterback C.J. Stroud, Atlanta’s defense prevented any fireworks, almost intercepted Storud for the first time in his professional career after a stellar start to his regular season, and nearly prevented any touchdowns from being scored at all.

It wasn’t until the final two minutes of the game that Houston scored their first touchdown. Until that point, the Falcons defenders had limited the Texans to scoring four field goals even though their offense had turned the ball over twice in the second half and fumbled it three times.

In this game, the team saw improvements from both Ridder as a passer and his defense in the red zone, and this could be indicative of a resilient defense that will keep the team in games going forward as their offense continues to find its rhythm, precisely what the team needs.

Welcome Back, Kyle Pitts

After being the focus of Atlanta’s team in potential trade scenarios, Pitts had himself a game. Pitts was targeted 11 times for seven receptions and 87 yards.

Perhaps this offense won’t ever make Pitts look like Travis Kelce as the team’s focal point, but a large part of why Ridder was successful today was because he found comfort in targeting his big-bodied playmakers in Pitts, Drake London, and Jonnu Smith.

Many believed that the involvement of Smith meant that Pitts’ role as the preferred tight end in the offense was in doubt, but it appears there are enough passes to go around for both of them.

Smith had seven targets for six catches and 67 yards. The veteran undeniably looks like someone that Ridder trusts, even though he did have a fumble today, but it seems like Smith could be the reliable thunder to Pitts’ more explosive lightning.

Together, the two tight ends look like they might be the best tight-end duo in the league for the season, somewhat reminiscent of the New England Patriots offense in 2012.

Whether or not these takeaways are sustainable for the rest of the season remains to be seen, but the first chance to see if the Falcons continue will come next week against the Washington Commanders.