Citing a concussion evaluation for Desmond Ridder, and after being sacked multiple times in the first half of Sunday’s contest, Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith turned the offense over to backup QB Taylor Heinicke to begin the second half. It seemed like a “too little, too late” situation as the Falcons failed to overcome the Titans' lead and dropped to 1-3 on the road this season.
Ridder started the game 8-for-12 for 71 yards but was knocked around to the tune of five sacks before being taken out in favor of Heinicke when the team emerged from the tunnel at halftime. After being evaluated, Ridder was announced as having been cleared but didn’t return to the game.
Heinicke finished 12-for-21 for 175 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 8.3 yards/completion and lead the team to points on four of his first five possessions.
Despite coming into this weekend boasting a top-10 defense in the NFL and recording two sacks on Sunday, Atlanta allowed the Titans to score their most points since 2021. The Falcons met with adversity early on when defensive lineman Grady Jarrett went down with a knee injury and didn’t return to the game. His replacement LaCale London went down in the third quarter with an injured knee as well.
The lack of a consistent pass rush from Atlanta was evident as Titans rookie QB Will Levis, making his first start of the season after being selected with the No. 33 pick overall in April out of Kentucky, joined Marcus Mariota in 2015 with the Titans and Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton as the only quarterbacks ever to throw four TD passes in their debut.
Levis was 19-for-29 with 238 yards and the four touchdowns. Titans RB Derrick Henry had 101 yards on the ground, the first running back to top 100 rushing yards against the Falcons this season. Despite struggling to really produce on offense though eight weeks, three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins finally broke out with 128 yards and three TDs on four catches for Tennessee.
A week after being limited to one carry in the Falcons’ 16-13 win at Tampa Bay, Falcons rookie Bijan Robinson had 11 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown to lead the rushing attack. Falcons WR KhaDarel Hodge caught three balls for 75 yards to lead the team. Drake London caught five passes on seven targets for 55 yards but left the game late with a groin injury.
Despite being behind for the entirety of the game, Heinicke and the offense did have an opportunity to put the team in position to possibly take the lead late in the 4th quarter. After pulling Atlanta within 28-23 with an 8-yard TD pass to Scotty Miller with 3:46 left, the Falcons defense forced a punt by the Titans and took over in Atlanta territory with just over two minutes left in regulation.
With about 90 seconds remaining and facing a 4th & 1 from their own 22-yard-line, a short pass across the middle was mishandled and dropped by recently acquired WR Van Jefferson.
Looking ahead to next week, the Falcons (4-4) return home to host the Minnesota Vikings (4-4), a team that has their own issues at quarterback as Vikings QB Kirk Cousins went down with an Achilles injury during the 24-10 win over Green Bay during Week 8.