The Atlanta Falcons have plenty of questions after dropping their third straight game (and fourth in five outings) Sunday in Arizona. None is more important than who the starting quarterback will be down the stretch.
Atlanta (4-6) got to look at both of its options Sunday during a 25-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals (2-8) because starter Taylor Heinicke left the game in the second half because of a hamstring injury and was replaced by Desmond Ridder. That doesn’t mean the Falcons got much clarity.
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Heinicke was 8-for-15 for 55 yards and a touchdown with an 84 passer rating. Ridder was 4-for-6 for 39 yards and an 84.7 passer rating. Ridder did run for a 9-yard touchdown that gave the Falcons a 23-22 lead with 2:33 left in the game and seemed to impress his coach.
“That’s basically the play he fumbled against Tampa,” Arthur Smith said after the game. “That play will tell you a lot. If you don’t want the ball in your hands, it’d be real easy to give that ball (in the zone read). Des did a really nice job and gave us a chance. Des did a nice job coming back out there. He kind of reset, and we are confident in him. He gave us a chance to win. We have to make a decision.”
Smith, who didn’t name a starter Sunday in Arizona, said last week he would use the team’s upcoming bye to evaluate the quarterback position and pick the player he thought should start for the rest of the season.
“That’s not really my decision,” Ridder said after the game. “My job was to be backup to Taylor and do what I can, and I think I did my job in that regard.”
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For the season, Ridder has completed 65.4 of his passes for 1,740 yards (7.1 yards per attempt), six touchdowns and six interceptions, and Heinicke has completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 498 yards (6.7 yards per attempt), three touchdowns and one interception.
The Falcons, who entered the game 19th in the NFL in red zone efficiency at 50 percent, scored touchdowns on 75 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line Sunday. Overall, though, the offense took a step back, gaining only 254 yards, its lowest total since Week 3 (183 yards against the Detroit Lions).
“In all three phases, if we’re just better here or there, it’s a completely different outcome,” Ridder said.
Pocket problems for the defense
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, playing his first game since tearing his ACL in December, rushed for 33 yards on six carries. It doesn’t sound like much, but it made a big difference Sunday. Murray rushed for a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter and then escaped the pocket and a diving Arnold Ebiketie on third-and-10 for 13 yards on the Cardinals’ game-winning field goal drive.
Kyler ran and ran and ran until he got the first down 😳 @K1
📺: #ATLvsAZ on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kECSNGc6Bj pic.twitter.com/beWCv5etrq— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2023
Busy day for Bijan Robinson
Rookie running back Bijan Robinson tied his career high with 23 offensive touches and had 106 yards from scrimmage, the third-highest total of his career and highest since Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had 95 rushing yards on 22 carries and one catch for 11 yards. He also returned a punt for 8 yards.
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“He’s a dynamic player,” Smith said. “That’s why we took him. He did a nice job today. We have to find a way to get over that hump and not find a way to be a couple points short at the end of the game.”
The subject of Robinson’s usage had dominated the Falcons’ conversation heading into the week. In the four games before Sunday in which he was a full participant, Robinson had averaged 64.8 yards from scrimmage.
Robinson got four touches in the red zone against the Cardinals, his highest total since Week 2. He has 17 red zone touchdowns this season.
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Still in the mix
The Falcons still are only 1.5 games out of first place in the NFC South thanks to the Minnesota Vikings’ 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. That fact seemed to surprise even Smith on Sunday.
“We’re not where we want to be, but somehow, some way we are not out of it,” he said. “We have to regroup, look at everything and find solutions. We are going to do everything humanly possible to do our job better and try to go win this division. (The bye) is coming at the right time for us and we’ll be ready to roll when New Orleans comes to Atlanta.”
Asked whether he thought his team was “unraveling,” Smith said no.
“Not at all, I wouldn’t use that word,” he said. “You know those guys we’ve got. I’m betting on them.”
Returning to a problem
For the second time this season, the Falcons were victimized by a long punt return. After giving up a 61-yard return in a 24-16 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 6, Atlanta gave up a 49-yard punt return to Greg Dortch on Sunday that set up the Cardinals’ go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.
The Falcons are 27th in the NFL in special teams EPA (minus-11.52). The Cardinals lead the league in special teams EPA (24.56).
(Photo of Desmond Ridder: Joe Camporeale / USA Today)
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