TAMPA, Fla. -- Here’s what Falcons coach Arthur Smith had to say after the 16-13 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. The victory snapped the Falcons’ eight-game road losing streak.
On what was going on with RB Bijan Robinson today: “Just as we got through warmups and early on, (he) just wasn’t feeling like himself, so he played, but we weren’t going to overdo it. Just being cautious. When you have other guys that can go … we’re a team. So, we’ll just continue to see and monitor tonight and tomorrow. I’ll have a better answer for you tomorrow.”
On what he said to the team after pulling out the win: “We certainly like to make it hard on ourselves, but at the end of the day, we found a way. Situational football – second time in three weeks, (we) found a way at the last second. [Younghoe] Koo, like he continues to do – he’s clutch. But, our guys make plays in big moments. We always feel like we got a shot, no matter what happens, it’s a resilient group.”
On how much Robinson’s limited snaps altered the gameplan: “There (were ) things that we wanted to do. You can see it. We were effective moving the ball. You can’t have two fumbles on the 1(-yard line). We’ve got to clean that up. It’s going to make it hard for you, but again, we found a way. But that’s what coaching is. You’ve got to have plans, got to have contingency plans. And as the game goes, you’ve got to adapt. (Cordarrelle Patterson), I thought he ran the ball extremely well today, (and) so did Tyler (Allgeier), so we didn’t feel like we had to push him more than he needed to go and we found a way to get a win.”
On being in first place in the division: “Yeah, look it’s week seven. We’ll take it. Road win, division win puts us 2-0 in the division. We know we’ve got work to do, but happy to get a win.”
On QB Desmond Ridder’s three fumbles: “I mean you continue to work it. I mean the one, I swear it’s like Murphy’s law, you show those situations. You run through the goal line – don’t let up. So, we’ve got to continue to work it. The snap, like I said, it’s stuff we have to clean up. But I will say this about Des – he sat in there and delivered some big-time throws today, especially when we needed it late. He got the ball to Kyle (Pitts) that essentially won the game. The one on the sack-fumble, I mean, he’s going to throw it. One is on the snap, one is letting up running it, so yeah, we’ll find a way. I promise you we’ll find a way to fix it.”
On critical mistakes in critical situations and if there is a concern with Ridder: “No, I mean look, we just won the game, 16-13. The guy (Desmond Ridder) played phenomenal in the pocket, delivered the ball. Last week, he threw a couple a couple picks (and) fixes those. 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. There [are] always things to (fix). We’re not going run away with some negative narrative – we found a way to win. I know this about Desmond Ridder – he’s tough and he’s a winner.”
On the defensive performance: “Same thing. They got some plays, they got into critical situations, just like we found a way to make some plays at the end when we had to have them, kept drives going… that’s what good teams do – find ways to win.”
On failing to score before the half: “It was a couple things. We got the hold. It (was) a couple things in that situation. It was third-and-2, they moved it back to third-and-7, late. So, I had to burn the timeout because of the personnel logistics. We got the first down after that. That was a pass to Drake (London). They were packing the paint, tried to hit it with the screen, they backed off. Obviously, we didn’t execute, and then we tried to put one in the back of the endzone and they got the sack fumble. So, obviously, not what you want there, but look, it’s the National Football League – you don’t want that to happen, but we’re not going to go sit in the tank. You try to fix things and see what’s an issue. We felt like we were doing a great job up front, and we felt like second half we would be able to run the ball and we did.”
On what the defense did when the Buccaneers had it first-and-goal: “Same thing their defense did. It’s either pressure or play coverage and collapse the pocket, and make it hard for them to throw from the pocket. That’s what we did – same thing they tried to do. I mean Todd (Bowlesb) acked off of it and showed something different. It’s usually zero or it’s extra coverage – one or the other.”
On if he thought about calling timeouts sooner when the Buccaneers got on the fringe of field goal range in the fourth quarter: “Well, couple of things. You think about it. but if they get an earned first, then you have no timeouts if they go and score the touchdown. I mean those are the gambles you’re playing. So, if you get in there and waste them all… let’s say they get a first down under the 10-yard down and they score a touchdown, I mean, you’re making it hard on yourself. You’re weighing all of that. We talked about it.”
On if he felt they had enough time: “We did. You’re playing the percentages. There’s always a risk and you’re just looking at how the series is going and when you want to call them and played out obviously to our advantage. You always consider it, but it’s just a three-point game, that’s it.”
