The Atlanta Falcons opted to play their starters during Monday night’s preseason game against the New York Jets and it didn’t take long for TE Kyle Pitts to take advantage of the Jets’ backups.
Pitts caught a 52-yard bomb from QB Marcus Mariota on the team’s first offensive play. Rookie QB Desmond Ridder was extremely sharp for the second week in a row, and second-year LB Ade Ogundeji had a nice showing on defense.
However, Atlanta blew a 16-point first-half lead and New York came back to win 24-16. Here are five takeaways from Monday’s prime-time preseason matchup.
1
Mariota and Ridder air it out
Mariota’s first two games as the Falcons’ starting quarterback have been encouraging. The former No. 2 pick was extremely efficient, completing six of 10 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. Mariota made mostly good reads, showed impressive arm strength, and used his mobility to buy time in the pocket to find holes in the Jets defense.
Obviously, this is the preseason and Mariota was playing against New York’s second-team defense. After two games, Mariota has completed eight of 12 pass attempts for 168 passing yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of 115.4. He also has a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
Rookie Desmond Ridder was stellar again, completing 10 of 13 passes for 143 yards. Feleipe Franks didn’t fare as well, throwing for eight yards on six pass attempts.
2
Kyle Pitts is dangerous
Pitts needed just one play to show Falcons fans the kind of difference-maker he’s going to be this season. If the ball was thrown a little deeper by Mariota, Pitts would have had an easy touchdown but the 52-yard completion was a great play, nonetheless. Pitts topped 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie with defenses keying in on him. If rookie Drake London can get healthy, Pitts should be able to take his game to the next level in 2022 — which should frighten opposing defenses.
Kyle Pitts just being Kyle Pitts.#ATLvsNYJ || #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/14CPjE7WOw
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 23, 2022
3
Jared Bernhardt keeps making plays
Bernhardt led the team in receiving yards, hauling in three catches for 67 yards (22.3 YPC). Plus, rookie QB Desmond Ridder seems to have developed good chemistry with the former lacrosse star. Can Bernhardt make the 53-man roster? Absolutely, but he still has more work to do. If he can keep making plays like the one below, Bernhardt has a real shot.
Ridder -> Bernhardt. Easy money.#ATLvsNYJ || #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/NrCGYTZQtc
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 23, 2022
4
Running game?
Caleb Huntley led all non-quartberbacks in rushing yards on Monday, but it wasn’t a great performance by any of the team’s running backs. Huntley had 34 yards on 3.1 yards per carry. Rookie Tyler Allgeier had six carries for just 17 yards. Qadree Ollison had four carries for 14 yards, and Damien Williams had two carries for five yards. Quarterback Feleipe Franks led the offense with 45 rushing yards.
5
Defense: Ogundeji plays well, Ballentine just misses INT
It was a mixed bag from the Falcons defense on Monday. The starters looked good, especially second-year OLB Ade Ogundeji, and the defensive back competition continues to intensify. Cornerback Corey Ballentine had a beautiful pass breakup but just barely failed to bring in what would have been a highlight-reel interception. Teez Tabor had another nice game, coming away with the game’s only interception. Rookie LB Troy Andersen finished with two tackles and a QB hit in his NFL debut.
