{"id":302867,"date":"2023-12-19T14:24:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T14:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=302867"},"modified":"2023-12-19T14:24:59","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T14:24:59","slug":"falcons-to-start-qb-taylor-heinicke-vs-colts-desmond-ridder-benched-for-second-time-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/nfl\/falcons-to-start-qb-taylor-heinicke-vs-colts-desmond-ridder-benched-for-second-time-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons to start QB Taylor Heinicke vs. Colts; Desmond Ridder benched for second time in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Arthur Smith will make another quarterback change as the Atlanta Falcons attempt to save their floundering season.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcons will start Taylor Heinicke in Sunday&#8217;s contest against Indianapolis, sending second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder back to the bench, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the situation.<\/p>\n<p>The Athletic first reported the move.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the second benching of Ridder this season, who Heinicke replaced as the starter in Weeks 9 and 10 &#8212; both losses. The second-year signal-caller regained his starting job after replacing an injured Heinicke late in the contest and nearly the comeback.<\/p>\n<p>Alas, the same struggles that plagued Ridder early in the season persisted. In Sunday&#8217;s woeful 9-7 loss to the two-win Carolina Panthers, Ridder was inconsistent throughout the contest and threw an atrocious red zone interception that led to a loss that plummeted the Flacons&#8217; playoff chances.<\/p>\n<h2>          <span>            Related Links          <\/span>        <\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>              The First Read: One reason for hope for nine bubble teams still in NFL playoff hunt; top MVP candidates            <\/li>\n<li>              2024 NFL Draft order: Packers go from playoff picture to No. 12 pick after Week 15            <\/li>\n<li>              Top five candidates for 2023 NFL Executive of the Year            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The positive flashes from Ridder have been few and far between, and the 16 turnovers, tied for fifth-most in the NFL, have been brutal, with six of them coming in the red zone. Ridder has been particularly poor on the road, where he&#8217;s completed just 59.4 percent of his passes for 162.6 yards per game as a road starter in his two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>After the latest benching, the question is whether it signals the end of the Ridder experiment in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>Heinicke didn&#8217;t exactly shine in his two starts, completing 54.72 percent of his passes with two TDs and an INT while taking four sacks in the back-to-back losses. At this point, Smith is grasping at anything that can spark a late-season surge. Heinicke is a gunslinger who could help open the offense but will also put the ball in harm&#8217;s way at times.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcons face the Colts at home on Sunday, then travel to Chicago and New Orleans to close the season.<\/p>\n<p>After making moves in the offseason aimed at getting back to the postseason in a winnable NFC South, the faceplant in Atlanta has put Smith&#8217;s future in question. Desperate coaches seek out any move they can to jumpstart a stalled operation. For Smith, that was giving the ball back to Heinicke. If it doesn&#8217;t work, we could see an overhaul coming to Atlanta in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/falcons-to-start-qb-taylor-heinicke-vs-colts-desmond-ridder-benched-for-second-t\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arthur Smith will make another quarterback change as the Atlanta Falcons attempt to save their floundering season. The Falcons will <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Falcons to start QB Taylor Heinicke vs. Colts; Desmond Ridder benched for second time in 2023 - Sportstons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/nfl\/falcons-to-start-qb-taylor-heinicke-vs-colts-desmond-ridder-benched-for-second-time-in-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Falcons to start QB Taylor Heinicke vs. Colts; Desmond Ridder benched for second time in 2023 - Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Arthur Smith will make another quarterback change as the Atlanta Falcons attempt to save their floundering season. 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