Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons Have 'A Lot to Learn From' Following Loss vs. Washington Commanders

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder seemed optimistic about his team despite a poor showing against the Washington Commanders.

Desmond Ridder's performance in Sunday afternoon's loss to the Washington Commanders seemed to be a regression at best, but how does the Atlanta Falcons quarterback view the team's showing as a whole?

More importantly, how does he view the remainder of the season? What's the next step for a team that has shown flashes of success this season but, to this point, has failed to show week-in and week-out consistency on the scoreboard?

"At the end of the day, we've all just got to be better," Ridder said following Sunday's loss. "Whether it's substitutions, reads, play calls, whatever it is, we've just got to be better."

Oct 15, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) is tackled for a loss by Washington Commanders defensive end Casey Toohill (95) during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / © Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Despite his three-interception day, Ridder was somewhat optimistic following Sunday's loss. That's always a positive, but putting the optimism into practice is a different story.

That's one of the positive spins that came from the quarterback: Sunday can provide a multitude of learning experiences for the Falcons.

"That's tough to go out there and put up that showing," Ridder said. "You have plenty of opportunities to go put points on the board. I think what's great for this team is that game, there's a lot of good things to learn from. There's a lot of things that went wrong that we have done right in the past and just did wrong out there. I think it's only going to make us better."

The Falcons will need to play better than they did on Sunday, and they'll need to figure out some things quickly. The next two weeks for Atlanta feature road trips against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans, and playing on the road in the NFL is never easy.

The Falcons travel to face the Bucs next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, and Tampa currently leads the NFC South with a 3-2 record. The game will be televised on FOX.