The Falcons self-destructed in Sunday’s 24-16 home loss to the Washington Commanders, with three Desmond Ridder interceptions costing Atlanta.
Atlanta outgained Washington, 402-193, and generated 25 first downs to 13. Ridder passed for 307 yards to 151 for Sam Howell. The Falcons rushed for 106 yards to Washington’s 72. Atlanta’s D sacked Howell five times and held the Commanders to 2 of 10 on third downs.
However, the second-year quarterback’s turnovers dashed any hopes of a come-from-behind victory for Atlanta. Having lost three of their last four games, the Falcons have committed nine turnovers in these four games.
“We’ve turned the ball over too much lately,” Arthur Smith said Sunday, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s official website.
Ridder threw multiple interceptions for the second time on Sunday, with the first time being in Week 4. Although the passing game is improving, with an average of 275.7 yards per game over the last three weeks compared to 180.1 yards per game in his first seven career starts, turnovers have also increased.
The errors in Week 6, such as an early turnover near midfield and bad punt coverage, resulted in short-yardage scenarios every time the Commanders scored. The three touchdown drives by Washington covered a total of 85 yards, averaging 28.34 yards per drive.
The Falcons’ end-of-game play on offense consisted of horrific execution. Trailing by eight late, Atlanta drove to the 2-yard-line before taking an egregious delay of game penalty. On the ensuing play, Ridder seemed to panic on a woefully underthrown ball to Drake London — Smith called it “miscommunication” — that was picked off.
Following two more successful defensive stops by the Falcons, where they only allowed Washington to gain 16 yards in the fourth quarter, Smith’s team had another opportunity to level the score. However, perplexingly, the Falcons had to use their last timeout when the clock had stopped at 0:31 to prevent another delay. In the subsequent play, Ridder’s third interception was thrown, effectively securing their defeat.
“Sometimes it’s like a domino effect. You shuffle one person here, another there. It may sound like we’re making excuses, but that’s the reality,” Smith stated. “All of us need to improve. The change has to begin with me. It wasn’t a problem before, but it was on Sunday. We need to recognize that. It’s a hard truth to accept.”
The loss pushed Atlanta to 3-3, a half-game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) for the NFC South lead. The rivals face off in Week 7 with the division lead on the line.
