Desmond Ridder playing himself out of starting role in Atlanta
Patience is running thin for Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder.
In Sunday's 23-7 loss to the Jaguars, Ridder was intercepted twice, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
He finished the game 19-of-31 for 191 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Most troubling for Atlanta is that Ridder has yet to improve from the start of the season.
In some ways, he's regressed since the first two weeks, posting his two worst passer ratings in Atlanta's past two games, both losses.
The Falcons are averaging 6.5 points per game during their two-game losing streak and Ridder has taken 11 sacks in those two games after only being sacked five teams in the first two weeks.
After the game, head coach Arthur Smith lamented the offense's poor performance while acknowledging something has to change.
If Ridder continues to struggle, Smith must consider a move to backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke.
He was solid in a backup role for Washington last season and could stabilize a rudderless offense.
From 2021-22, Heinicke had 24 starts and was 482-of-753 (64 percent) for 5,278 yards, 32 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Atlanta spent its past three first-round picks (each in the top 10) on offensive skill-position players but Ridder has yet to take advantage of the talent around him.
Wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts combined for five receptions for 49 yards against Jacksonville, the latest in a line of maddeningly inconsistent games for the duo.
Pitts, the fourth-overall pick in 2021, had 1,000 yards as a rookie but has disappeared in the two years since, including only 11 receptions for 121 yards through four games this season.
London, meanwhile, was drafted eighth overall in 2022 but only has 14 receptions for 154 yards.
Running back Bijan Robinson, drafted eighth overall in 2023, has been Atlanta's best playmaker but he's also proven why the team's decision to draft him was unwise.
He had 19 touches for 137 total yards against Jacksonville and already has 452 yards from scrimmage. But those were empty calories against the Jags, and Atlanta risks wasting Robinson's brilliance on a quarterback who shouldn't be starting.
With all the talk about how finite running back careers are, the Falcons can't afford to waste any of Robinson's career waiting for Ridder to hold up his end of the bargain.
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