For the exhibition finale, Falcons coach Arthur Smith turned the keys over to rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder.
After a shaky start, Ridder took over and guided the Falcons to a 28-12 victory over Jacksonville on Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ridder, who was taken in the third round of the NFL draft out of Cincinnati, threw an interception on his first play and then settled down.
“Obviously, off the bat wasn’t the hottest start you could have, but I felt it went well,” said Ridder, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. “We went out there, our goal was to go out there and execute, dominate the line of scrimmage, and that we did, and just keep the ball moving.”
Ridder had some help from the rushing attack. The Falcons ran the ball 36 times 124 yards and three touchdowns.
Running backs Caleb Huntley, Qadree Ollison and Tyler Allgeier all scored rushing touchdowns, and Allgeier also scored on a reception.
“We still had little issues here and there, when it comes to just getting the plays going and everything, but we’ll clean that up,” Ridder said. “I think it went well.”
On the second possession, Ridder put together a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
“It’s just really keeping the ball moving forward any way possible to do that,” Ridder said. “Whether it’s running the ball, whether it’s throwing the ball, there’s a screen, it doesn’t matter, we want to keep the ball moving forward.”
Ridder made three nice throws on third downs to keep the drive moving.
“We train to have those long drives and train to grind down the other team more than we’re tired, and that’s what we did,” Ridder said.
He also had an interception right before halftime.
“No, those are both on me,” Ridder said. “I’m out there on the field, but yeah, on the first one, I think we had something go wrong with the line, so I had a guy in my face. I still thought I could have made the throw.”
The pass was intercepted by Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas.
“Throwing late over the middle probably isn’t the best option, and obviously, you know the first play of the game, we want to get things going,” Ridder said. “So, learning from that, next time just throwing it away is probably a better option.”
Smith took the blame for the interception right before the half.
“I thought we had a chance with Frankie (Darby),” Smith said. “Frankie had a good move on that, and I thought I’d give him a chance on that. End of the half, who cares.”
Smith likes how Ridder handled that situation, too.
“There are a lot of guys that care more about social media, stats or whatever it is,” Smith said. “Desmond is a real football player. You have to come out and keep swinging, keep things in perspective. Put the second one on me.”
Later in the third quarter and into the fourth, Ridder put together a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Allgeier scored on a 4-yard touchdown run.
Ridder was pleased with the play of the offensive line.
“They did great, all five of them that were in there,” Ridder said. “We obviously have been with a lot of them since rookie minicamp, so it’s been great that we were all able to get out there, and they did a heck of a job. Those are my boys.”
Ridder knew he had to shake off the interception.
“Just play the next play,” Ridder said. “I think that’s been instilled in me since probably my high school days and maybe even younger, but mostly high school. As a quarterback, you’ve got to play the next play.
“No matter what happens on the next one, what happened on the drive before, the first half, it doesn’t matter. Go out there and play the next play. It’s a new play, and there’s new opportunities to be made.”
Running back Avery Williams believes Ridder could step in pinch.
“100 percent,” Williams said. “Every single player on this team has grown. Just from Day 1 in camp, from OTAs to where we are now. There has been a huge jump in every single (group).”
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