Falcons Bench QB Desmond Ridder; Start Taylor Heinicke

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Falcons coach Arthur Smith has decided to bench Desmond Ridder and start veteran Taylor Heinicke at quarterback for Atlanta in their Week 9 game against the Vikings.

“Just for this week, with all the variables, just kind of considering everything in the last 72 hours, what we feel is best for this week for us against Minnesota — Taylor will play this week,” Smith announced in his press conference.

This decision comes after a rough outing for Ridder last week during the Titans game, where he was benched in favor of Heinicke.

The results were crystal clear: Ridder struggled, going 8/12 for 71 yards with no touchdowns, taking 5 sacks and losing a fumble. In comparison, Heinicke stepped up with a more impressive performance, going 12/21 for 175 yards, tossing one touchdown, and avoiding any turnovers.

Heinicke brings a ton of experience to the starting role, having played as a starter for the Commanders over the past two seasons. In 2022, he completed 62.2 percent of his throws, throwing for 1,859 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. The previous year in 2021, he had 20 touchdown and 15 interceptions.

Ridder, a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, has struggled in his role as the Falcons’ starting quarterback in the first eight games of the season. He’s with six touchdowns and six interceptions. Notably, he also fumbled seven times, losing six of those.

The Vikings are expected to start rookie Jaran Hall, who is set to replace Kirk Cousins, who’s out for the season with a torn Achilles. The Vikings did trade for veteran Josh Dobbs, who may push for the starting spot.