Ridder refuses to let win slip through his fingers

TAMPA, Fla. — Desmond Ridder almost fumbled it all away in a flail of ignominy not seen in the NFL for over four decades, but a game-winning drive with 45 seconds left helped take away the sting for the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.

Ridder became the first player in the last 45 seasons to lose three red zone fumbles in a single game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“At the end of the day,” Ridder said. “I just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Ridder said after the Falcons’ 16-13 win over Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

The Falcons are the first team to lose three red zone fumbles since the Arizona Cardinals did it in a 2004 loss — to the Falcons. They’re the first team with three red zone turnovers since New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had three passes intercepted in a 2016 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

It could have been worse for Ridder, but a drive with 45 seconds left, which included a 39-yard pass to Kyle Pitts, helped set up Younghoe Koo’s game-winning 51-yard field goal at the buzzer.

“To his credit,” defensive end Calais Campbell said of Ridder, “he didn’t let that stop him from going out there and finding a way to win the ballgame.”

All three fumbles were of differing varieties. His first came as he was sacked by Shaq Barrett while trying to throw the ball on a play starting at the Tampa Bay 11. Jamel Dean recovered, stopping a potential scoring drive at the end of the first half.

The second came on the Tampa Bay 1, when a snap from Drew Dalman was fumbled and recovered by the Bucs’ Yaya Diaby.

After the play, Ridder slammed a water bottle to the ground on the bench after taking a drink from it.

“We made it a lot harder on ourselves than we needed to be,” Ridder said.

The third fumble could have potentially been the most damaging. Midway through the fourth quarter, Ridder took off scrambling for the end zone for an apparent touchdown that would have given the Falcons a two-possession lead, however video evidence showed the ball was knocked loose by Tampa safety Antoine Winfield Jr. at the 1-yard line.

It rolled into the end zone and out of it. Touchdown turned touchback. Two-possession lead into a turnover.

“The one over there on the goal-line, obviously you’re antsy to get in, you’re about eight inches away and you just got to come up with it,” Ridder said. “The one later on, all the way in the end zone, it was an RPO and I was going to pass it and back when you’re seven, eight years old playing football you learn when you’re running to your left put the ball in your left hand and running to your right, put it in your right.

“So I was running to my left, thought I was going to throw it. I pulled it down and ran it, kept it in my right hand and obviously didn’t protect the ball.”

It was part of a wild game where Ridder completed 19 of 25 passes for 250 yards, no passing touchdowns (one rushing) and no interceptions. He finished with a 107.1 passer rating — his second straight week with a passer rating over 100.

The Falcons may lead the NFC South, but their quarterback has six turnovers over the past two weeks.

“The guy played phenomenal in the pocket, throwing the ball,” coach Arthur Smith said. “Last week he threw a couple picks, fixed those. I understand it’s like a game of Whack-A-Mole, but he’s in his 11th start, just got a good, road win against what, the third-ranked win in the league.

“So let’s give him some credit. Let’s give this team some credit for winning. I’m not going to run away with some negative narrative. Found a way to win. I know this about Desmond Ridder. He’s tough and he’s a winner.”

The Falcons were largely without running back Bijan Robinson on Sunday. Ridder’s most effective offensive option said he was not feeling well Sunday morning and Smith told him they didn’t want to risk anything so they limited him to 11 snaps and one touch — a 3-yard run.

Robinson said he was “feeling weird” Saturday night, found it hard to sleep and woke up “feeling completely out of it.” He tried to take medicine to help feel better but his head was “hurting bad.” Robinson said he felt cold and had a “pounding” headache. After the game, Robinson said he was not administered a concussion test at any point and did not take a COVID test.

As the game went on, he realized he wouldn’t be able to play.

“As we got through warmups, he just wasn’t feeling like himself,” Smith said. “He played but we weren’t going to overdo it. Just being cautious. When you have other guys who can go, we’re a team. … I’ll have a better answer for you tomorrow.”

Tyler Allgeier rushed 21 times for 59 yards and Cordarrelle Patterson had 10 carries for 56 yards as the Falcons gained over 400 yards of offense for the third straight week.