Falcons’ Arthur Smith never considered benching Marcus Mariota for Desmond Ridder during loss to Panthers

The Atlanta Falcons were serious about riding with Marcus Mariota, no matter the performance or circumstance. Despite Mariota’s struggles in Thursday night’s 25-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers, head coach Arthur Smith never considered pulling Mariota for rookie Desmond Ridder. 

“No,” Smith said after the loss to reporters, via the Falcons. “We have to protect better. We have to run better. It’s not just about the quarterback play.”

Mariota went 19 of 30 for 186 yards with two touchdowns to one interception in the loss, finishing with an 89.0 passer rating. He was just 8 of 14 for 63 yards in the first half with an interception (39.7 rating) as Atlanta trailed 13-3 at halftime. Mariota has completed only 61.9% of his passes for 1,747 yards with 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions through 10 games (89.9 rating). He’s 27th in the league in completion rate but 15th in passer rating. 

While Mariota hasn’t been bad, he hasn’t shown he can be the long-term answer in Atlanta. Ridder had an impressive preseason for the Falcons, as the rookie completed 60.8% of his passes for 431 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions (87.7 rating). He has yet to play a snap in the regular season. 

Smith made it clear from the start of the season he wouldn’t go to Ridder if Mariota struggled. He’s been a man of his word so far.