Blogging Dirty
FanSided

Desmond Ridder's Confidence restored leading to Falcons' Win

There has been many-a criticism of the 2nd year quaterback, however Ridder strung together his first 300+ yard passing game in a close win over the Houston Texans today

By Eric Wells

Desmond Ridder faced a lot of criticism from his early performances this year, while today wasn't perfect, he showed flashes of his potential.
Desmond Ridder faced a lot of criticism from his early performances this year, while today wasn't perfect, he showed flashes of his potential. / Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Atlanta sports fans took to Twitter to joke that, after the Braves take a Game 1 loss to the Phillies, we all have to roll out of bed and watch Desmond Ridder play football the next day. Desmond Ridder looked to prove his doubters wrong today. Ridder went 28-37 for 329 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT's versus the better-than-expected Houston Texans. D-Ridd also added a rushing TD in the first quarter.

While the offense started out with more of the same, some disjointed plays, Ridder showed early on that he was determined not to make the same mistakes from previous weeks. There was one early throw that was potentially picked off by Jalen Pitre, but from that point on, Ridder played lights out.

Throughout the game, Ridder was on target, confident, and firing the ball into tight windows with no fear. His confidence was the biggest thing that was missing in the first few games of the season. It's great to see our young QB have that, it can only lead to better play going forward.

There was more issues from the surrounding cast, penalties, fumbles, that kept the offense in first gear throughout the game. Desmond however never wavered through these problems. The biggest moment came late in the game, the two minute drill, and tells you everything you need to know about quarterbacks (if the situation doesn't have drops, bad blocking, etc).

Ridder picked apart the Houston defense with 1:49 left in the game, marching the Falcons offense down the field to secure the game winning field goal. This win has to be a huge one for Ridder's confidence and the entire teams confidence in him going forward. The Falcons take on a struggling Washington Commanders team this upcoming Sunday, October 15th in Atlanta.