FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons coach Arthur Smith, in a preemptive strike, went after the Desmond Ridder critics.
The second-year quarterback had three turnovers in the redzone Sunday against Tampa Bay, but the team was able to somehow overcome them in its 16-13 win over the Bucs in a division game on the road.
The win snapped an eight-game losing streak away from home, but Ridder now has eight turnovers over the past four games after not having any turnovers in his first four starts in the league last season.
“Last week, he threw (three) picks (and) fixed those,” Smith said. “I understand it’s like a game of Whac-A-Mole, but he’s in his 11th start, just got a road win. They’re a great defense in the league – let’s give him some credit, let’s give this team some credit for winning.”
The Falcons are 4-3 and in first place in the NFC South. That’s doesn’t absolve Ridder for his uneven play nor from the nine penalties for 60 yards.
“We found a way to win,” Smith said. “I know this about Desmond Ridder – he’s tough and he’s a winner.”
Here are five things learned from the victory:
1. Turnovers: The Falcons lost the turnover battle 3-2 and are near the bottom of the league in turnover differential with a minus-7. But their two turnovers on the plus side Sunday were huge - an interception by Richie Grant and a forced fumble by linebacker Nate Landman that was recovered by defensive tackle LaCale London in the third quarter.
“He (Tampa Bay running back Deven Thompkins) broke a couple of tackles,” Landman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.” I saw the ball. I made direct eye contact with the ball, threw a punch and wrapped up. It worked out. I’m glad my guys were there to get on the ball. It was a good momentum swing for us.
London was a practice squad promotion for the second game in a row.
“He’s been balling,” said Landman, who led the Falcons with 12 tackles.
2. Bijan Robinson update: The Falcons are expecting running back Bijan Robinson to be fine. He was used sparingly after coming down with sickness and a headache on Saturday.
He played just 11 plays and had a carry for 3 yards.
“We (have) some guys with minor bumps and bruises,” Smith said. “Nothing that we are concerned about long-term. Like a lot of our guys that played yesterday, I think he’ll be fine.”
Smith checked on Robinson pre-game and that determined if he was going to be active and play a smaller role.
“I always do a final check,” Smith said. “Then you talk to the player, the situation felt good that he’d be available. We’ll just see how the game went. But in the end, he asked if he could go.”
Robinson was basically available for the two-minute offense while Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allegeier handled the heavy lifting. His only carry was on first-and-10 from the 36 in the game-winning drive.
“Things come up all the time,” Smith said. “That’s why I always communicate with the players. We’ve had some strange things happen on game day before, but we would never put him out there if we thought it would something detrimental long-term.”
3. The Joker: Patterson, who ran hard, had just one carry entering the game. He had 10 carries for 56 yards (5.6 per carry). Allgeier had 21 carries for 59 yards.
“C.P and Tyler ran really hard,” Smith said. “Those are two guys that are tough to tackle. It was hot down there in that kind of environment. Both of those guys played really well.”
4. Penalties: The Falcons had nine penalties for 60 yards. Cornerback A.J. Terrell had two defensive holding calls and one for illegal use of hands.
Cornerback Jeff Okudah has one for defensive holding and nickel back Dee Alford had one for defensive pass interference.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss had an illegal contact call and wide receiver Mack Hollins had an offensive holding penalty.
“Just coming into the game knowing that it’s going to be a physical matchup with the receivers that they have,” Terrell said. “Just playing aggressive. You know...I knew what type of game it was going to be coming in. None of the calls really surprised me.”
5. Opening drive: The Falcons scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the second consecutive week.
Jonnu Smith had three catches of 7 yards, 18 yards and 2 yards in the eight-play drive that covered 58 yards. Ridder scored on 2-yard run.
“When your number is called it’s always a good feeling to get the team going,” the veteran tight end told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Those couple of plays led to points, that touchdown. Which was huge for us.”
The Falcons had three-and-outs to start four of their first five games and they had a interception on their other opening drive against Green Bay.
“It was something that we’ve been battling with,” Jonnu Smith said. “Being inconsistent these past couple of weeks, but it’s always good to get the job done. We got that thing popping off for our guys.”
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