The first week of the NFL season is usually filled with a cavalcade of mesmerizing mirages and wacky statistics, but this one might take the cake.
On a day where even he admitted that he struggled to get into rhythm in the passing game, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder accomplished something that hasn’t been done in the NFL since Peyton Manning’s heyday with the Indianapolis Colts.
Yes, seriously, that Desmond Ridder, the one who only made 18 passing attempts on Sunday in a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
While the unfailing principle of “lies, darn lies and statistics” still applies here, Ridder became the second quarterback in NFL history to post a completion percentage of roughly 83-percent, throw for 15-plus passes and only get a small amount of yards (115) to show for it.
The other quarterback, indeed, was Manning in 2007, per Fox Sports NFC South reporter Greg Auman.
So Falcons QB Desmond Ridder went 15-for-18 for 115 yards in win today. Since 1950, across NFL, only one other game ever with completion % that high, 15+ passes, that few yards: Peyton Manning, 2007, 14/16 for 95. That’s it.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 11, 2023
The Falcons still aren’t sure what they have in Ridder, and it’s too early to really gauge if he’s their long-term solution or just another stopgap solution before the team perhaps pulls from next year’s loaded rookie quarterback class.
However, Ridder’s commendable efficiency on a day when the Falcons struggled to get anything going in the passing game now puts him in a very bizarre statistical category with a Hall of Fame quarterback. The team didn’t air it out in the slightest, but Ridder technically hit his passes when he was called to do so.
If you want a definitive positive on Ridder’s day, this nice lob to tight end Kyle Pits showed both his ability to make clutch throws at the right time and Pitts’ unreal ability on downfield targets.
Welcome back, @kylepitts__!
📺: FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/QSHCTmUJUi
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 10, 2023
Akin to Ridder’s four-game sample last season, the former Cincinnati quarterback needs time to warm up his arm, and that can be halted when your team’s offensive line goes against a fearsome unit like what the Panthers have.
However, once Ridder gets going, he can make you the plays you need to get in a position to win. In his tough first NFL start last fall against the New Orleans Saints, Ridder put the Falcons in a position to either take the lead or tie the score late in the fourth quarter with a beautiful fourth-down throw.
However, then-rookie wideout Drake London coughed up the ball for a costly turnover that felt far, far too Falcon-y.
JUSTIN EVANS KNOCKS IT OUT! BRADLEY ROBY RECOVERS! SAINTS BALL!!!
📺 #ATLvsNO on FOX pic.twitter.com/QhmcVNVLPf
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 18, 2022
Going ahead, the Falcons will need to keep Ridder better protected and trust his arm a bit more even when the pressure is coming for him to showcase more of what his ceiling is as a young passer. The quarterback has plenty he needs to work on, but you see the potential the team clearly believes in.
It certainly helps to have the ferocious one-two punch of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier and an elite pass-catcher like Pitts at your disposal, but at least for this week, Ridder can point to this weird statistic as a reason for him leading the Falcons this fall.
