Desmond Ridder didn’t have to pass much in the Falcons’ season-opening victory over the Panthers.
The second-year quarterback finished the contest 15-of-18 for 115 yards with a touchdown. His scoring strike was a short pass in the flat to rookie Bijan Robinson, who made a slick move to avoid defenders and charge 11 yards into the end zone for the first TD of his career.
Ridder’s best throw came in the fourth quarter when he hit tight end Kyle Pitts with a 34-yard pass deep down the right side to put Atlanta on the 7-yard line.
But other than that, the Falcons’ defense and ground attack controlled the game. And Atlanta beat its division rival by 14 points.
Ridder said on Wednesday that while his comfort level is “really good” within the offense, he’s fine with the team doing whatever it takes to win.
“Last week, we never got into a rhythm that we wanted to get in,” Ridder said in his Wednesday press conference. “You talk about the balance of the offense, and everyone talks about, ‘Oh, well they ran the ball so many times, only threw the ball this many times.’ Again, at the end of the day, whatever is going to help us win, that’s what we’re going to do.
“I’ve told you guys several times I’m not [a] stat person, so I don’t care how many times I throw the ball or whatever, I just want to win at the end of the day. We just want to be able to get into a good rhythm and I think that’s one thing we’re going to work throughout this week and going into the game. It’s just being able to get into a better rhythm — get out there, no three and outs, get out there and just get one first drop to just get it going.”
Ridder’s next challenge will be Green Bay’s defense, as the Falcons will host the Packers in Week 2.