The Atlanta Falcons (2-1) were unable to overcome a slow start in their Week 3 matchup against the Detroit Lions (2-1). At the heart of Sunday’s 20-6 loss was the offense’s inability to protect quarterback Desmond Ridder.
The Falcons signal-caller completed 21 of 38 passes for 201 yards, but he was sacked seven times. Most of Ridder’s production came on underneath routes, as you can see on his Week 3 passing chart below.
The majority of Ridder’s misses came when he was targeting a receiver 10 or more yards downfield. Ridder had one pretty bad miss to tight end Kyle Pitts, but overall, he didn’t have a lot to work with due to the poor pass protection.
The Falcons offense is focused on the short-passing game, mostly targeting the running backs and tight ends. However, the team’s rushing attack wasn’t able to carry the load in Week 3.
We’ll see if the Falcons can turn things around next weekend when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
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