The Atlanta Falcons had hope. After leading the team to a tense win over the Houston Texans in Week 5, they thought Desmond Ridder had finally turned the corner. Instead, he only took another massive step back on Sunday.
With the Falcons locked in a duel with the Washington Commanders, Ridder had multiple opportunities to lift Atlanta over the top of a mediocre team. Ridder pretty much squandered most of them in a losing 24-13 performance where he threw three horrendous interceptions.
Easily the most egregious turnover was when the Falcons had a pivotal third-and-goal late in the fourth quarter. After a late snap (and late play call from Smith, a consistent theme for Atlanta on Sunday), Ridder threw up an end-zone duck that was intercepted by Washington’s Benjamin St-Juste. In reaction to the pick, Smith unleashed a surrender cobra that epitomized Atlanta’s pitiful passing game:
Desmond Ridder got Arthur Smith in hell 😭 pic.twitter.com/HJzZs2CcZ4
— 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗻 🪖 (@Howell2McLaurin) October 15, 2023
That wasn’t Ridder’s last turnover of the day, either. With the game on the line, the quarterback threw another interception on the Falcons’ final possession after staring down Bijan Robinson.
Smith isn’t without fault for Ridder looking lost at the worst possible times. As noted, his play-calling (and timing of said play calls) left much to be desired, more or less occasionally hanging out Ridder to dry. But one week after Ridder looked like he could be a franchise quarterback, all of that goodwill quickly evaporated when he tried to build on it. What’s even worse for the Falcons is that it doesn’t seem like Smith is equipped to properly manage Ridder.