Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds in Week 5 vs. Panthers

Stud: Calvin Ridley

In what has been a strong showing to start the 2020 season, with the exception of the Week 4 effort last weekend, Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley had a solid performance against the Panthers when his team needed him to step up most.

Without Julio Jones in the game, who missed the contest due to a hamstring injury, Ridley once again took over the top receiver duties in the game at home and led the team in receiving yards along the way.

With a total of 10 targets, Ridley finished with eight catches for a game-best 136 yards tough the air. He also added a game-long reception of 26 yards.

Atlanta needs Jones back badly, but Ridley has stepped up nicely so far in his absence, which is a nice sign.

Dud: Not turning Carolina over

Another dud that took place for the Falcons this weekend was the fact that they were not able to force the Panthers into any mistakes on the offensive side of the ball for the entirety of the game.

Teddy Bridgewater tallied a total of 37 pass attempts under center for Carolina, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta wasn’t able to force him into any turnovers to create more opportunities for the Falcons offense, however.

Atlanta also didn’t manage to force a fumble in Carolina’s run game, something that had occurred off and on to begin the new year.

Especially when playing from behind, forcing an opposing offense into making some mistakes is critical to creating more opportunities for your offense to put points up on the board. The Falcons unfortunately weren’t able to do that.