3 Things the Atlanta Falcons learned about Desmond Ridder in week five

2. For once unfinished drives were rarely the fault of Desmond Ridder

It seemed so many times in this game that the Atlanta Falcons were on the brink of taking control in the first three quarters. The defense played well and the offense was consistently moving the ball compared to what we have seen each of the last two weeks.

Ridder showed great improvement in the first three quarters despite what the stats may say about how Atlanta finished. Bijan Robinson and Jonnu Smith both fumbled on drives that felt like the Atlanta offense was about to break loose.

Whether it was the fumbles or frustrating penalties there just always seemed to be a roadblock in Ridder's way that for once wasn't his own fault. This isn't to say that Desmond played a perfect game or deserves a ton of credit but rather Ridder did his job early on Sunday despite what the results might say.

The Jonnu Smith fumble without question hurt the most with Ridder and the Atlanta offense in a great rhythm well inside Koo's range.

Ridder stepped up in the first three quarters of this game showing improvement and giving reason to believe Atlanta's offense could still figure it out with Desmond.