Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds vs. Texans in Week 5
Stud: Calvin Ridley
The first stud performer in the high-scoring game for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday against the Houston Texans on the road was Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
Over the course of the last few weeks, Ridley has struggled to get catches and rack up the yards like he was able to do in the first pair of contests to begin the season. The second-year wideout was able to get back on track in Week 5, however, leading the Falcons receivers in the loss.
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Ridley tallied a total of 88 yards and one touchdown on five catches and nine overall targets in the game, pacing the way for Atlanta en route to finishing with over 300 yards receiving through the air.
It was good to see Ridley get back on track and get back to the level of production we have been used to seeing from him in the first few weeks of the year. Now, it’s about putting that type of performance together with a winning result.
Dud: Second half production
The first dud that took place for Atlanta in the loss was clearly its overall production in the second half against a potent Houston Texans squad. In the opening two quarters, the Falcons looked like they would be able to stick with the Texans while possibly stealing a game on the road in the fifth week of the regular season.
But in the second half out of halftime, Atlanta allowed Houston to go off in order to put the game out of reach before the fourth quarter even began.
As mentioned earlier, the Texans tallied 37 points in the second half, including 20 points in the fourth quarter, to blow the game out of reach. The Falcons, who were held scoreless in the third quarter, managed to score 15 points in the final frame, but that wasn’t nearly enough to catch up to Houston.
There were a lot of things that didn’t go the way of the Falcons on Sunday, but the second-half production was one thing that really stood out in the loss.