Quarterback Desmond Ridder was not supposed to play for the Falcons on Sunday.
But when Week 10 starter Taylor Heinicke pulled his hamstring in the second half of the eventual loss to Arizona, Ridder had to come in.
He ended up acquitting himself well, completing 4-of-6 passes for 39 yards and running in a 9-yard, go-ahead touchdown that gave Atlanta a 23-22 lead with 2:33 left in the game.
The Falcons ended up losing on Matt Prater’s walk-off, 23-yard field goal. But Ridder’s play gave head coach Arthur Smith something to think about over the bye week.
Smith has said he doesn’t want his team’s quarterback situation to remain week-to-week once Atlanta gets back from the time off. He noted after Sunday’s loss that Ridder’s play “will definitely have an effect.”
“We’ve got to make a decision, and like I said, Des did a nice job coming back out there,” Smith said in his press conference. “I thought he kind of reset, and we were confident in him if he had to come in on the second play of the game with the way he prepared, he didn’t flinch. He gave us a chance to win.”
Smith later added that it was “definitely encouraging” to see Ridder play as he did.
“He settled, was very confident,” Smith said. “If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have pulled the ball right there [on his touchdown run], I can tell you that. That play will tell you a lot because if you don’t want the ball in your hands it would’ve been real easy to hand it off.
“That’s one assessment I can give you just stating the obvious. And not living in his fears, that’s basically the same play where the ball popped out against Tampa.”
At 4-6, the Falcons are still in the thick of things in the NFC South, as the Saints are atop the division at 5-5. Atlanta will host New Orleans after the bye for Week 12.