3 Things Atlanta Falcons fans learned about Desmond Ridder in week one

2. Even when Ridder had time he didn't have Arthur Smith's trust

Desmond Ridder sealed this game by throwing the ball down the field for the first time allowing Kyle Pitts to make a big play that set up a Tyler Allgeier touchdown. Despite the early pressure the way that this game was called was concerning and pointed to a head coach that didn't trust his quarterback to do anything aside from throw slants and screen passes.

While one can argue that this game plan resulted in an Atlanta victory it is easy to see this style isn't maintainable. Jessie Bates isn't going to bail this offense out every week and teams will force Ridder to prove he can throw the football.

This isn't to say that Arthur Smith's smashmouth style isn't going to work but rather there has to be at least the threat of a passing game. Until Ridder hit Kyle late in the fourth quarter there wasn't a hint of a downfield attack with everything being runs, short passes to Mack Hollins, or throwing screens and letting Bijan Robinson work.

While Atlanta may have started the season 1-0 there is still a lot about this game that was alarming for a team that clearly has a lot of work on heading into week two.