3 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons must bench Mariota for Desmond Ridder
By Nick Halden
1. Turnovers
If you’re not going to be a threat in the passing game the one thing you cannot do as a quarterback is consistently turn the ball over. If Mariota is simply going to be a game manager who doesn’t amplify the Atlanta passing game it can work if he can take care of the football. Instead, Mariota is second in the league in turnovers and easily could have four more on the season on terrible throws or balls that took a lucky bounce and were recovered.
Mariota’s turnovers are the only reliable aspect of his game. You can count on Marcus to either put the ball on the turf or throw the ball to the wrong team at least twice a game. This is unacceptable for a player who cannot consistently help the Atlanta passing game.
Turnovers are hard to overcome even for elite passers in this game. They are the momentum swingers that have often hurt the Falcons over the last three years and instead of improving they are increasing the number of times they are giving the ball to the wrong team due to Mariota’s play. If the Falcons are going to continue to compete this season Mariota cannot be the Atlanta quarterback he has proven that as long as he is in that role the one aspect of his game that will be there every week is his ability to turn the ball over.