Falcons make quarterback change, going with veteran Taylor Heinicke over Desmond Ridder

The Atlanta Falcons have made a change at quarterback, with veteran Taylor Heinicke taking over for starter Desmond Ridder to open the second half of the team's 28-23 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

The Falcons offense has struggled for most of the season with Ridder under center, averaging just 16.4 points per game, fourth fewest in the entire NFL.

Ridder took a hit late in the first half and was evaluated for a concussion. Even though was cleared to return, Falcons coach Arthur Smith opted to have Heinicke start the second half with the team facing a 14-3 deficit.

After the game, Smith did not reveal the reasoning for the swap or his team's plans at quarterback moving forward.

"We just finished the game," Smith said, according to The Athletic. Obviously, we have a lot of confidence in Des. I didn’t take him out for performance issues. (Heinicke) did his job. That’s why he’s here. We have a lot of faith in Taylor."

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Ridder was sacked five times in the first half and he lost a fumble as the Falcons could manage just 89 yards of offense.

After entering the game, Heinicke led the Falcons to three scoring drives – two resulted in Younghoe Koo field goals, while rookie Bijan Robinson scored his first NFL rushing touchdown from 13 yards out to pull the Falcons to within five points at 21-16.