Atlanta Falcons Decline to Name Starting QB After Taylor Heinicke 'Gave Us Some Chances' vs. Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke handed the ball off, lifted his right arm and proceeded to give an emphatic fist pump before looking up at the roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, exploding in emotion.
The Falcons, with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, had taken the lead over the Minnesota Vikings, thanks to running back Tyler Allgeier's five-yard rushing score.
That play capped off a 13-play, 79-yard drive that lasted almost seven minutes. After the extra point, it gave Atlanta a 28-24 lead and appeared poised to be the deciding moment in Sunday afternoon's contest.
But ultimately, it wasn't, as the Vikings responded with a touchdown of their own and left the Falcons only 22 seconds. Later, Heinicke's Hail Mary attempt fell way short, and the game was over.
Atlanta (4-5) suffered its second straight defeat, falling 31-28 to Minnesota (5-4) in Heinicke's first start this season after replacing Desmond Ridder in the second half last week.
After the Falcons' loss, coach Arthur Smith revealed his team hadn't made a decision on who the starting quarterback will be in next week's road game against the Arizona Cardinals.
"Not yet," Smith said. "Not right now. We'll just have to get back (and) evaluate. We haven't sat back and looked at anything."
Heinicke finished the afternoon 21-of-38 for 268 yards, one touchdown and one interception while taking just one sack. He pointed out after the game he'd like to have three or four throws back but ultimately seemed relatively pleased with his performance.
"Pretty clean," Heinicke said. "There's a couple plays I wish I could have back. The interception was an awful throw. There was a couple other throws in the fourth quarter I was throwing it behind guys. I think my feet were getting a little excited, so go back and look at the film tomorrow."
Nov 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) passes the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Heinicke helped produce Atlanta's longest play from scrimmage this season, a 60-yard touchdown to tight end Jonnu Smith in which the latter took a screen pass and went untouched on his way to the endzone.
The Falcons' offense accumulated 370 total yards from scrimmage and converted 10-of-18 attempts on third down but continued to struggle finishing drives, ultimately settling for four field goals.
Afterwards, Heinicke pointed out there were several positives from the offense. Smith noted 28 points wasn't enough.
As for Heinicke's performance, Smith saw both positives and negatives but won't have any long-term thoughts until watching the film.
"He did turn the ball over, but I thought he operated on third down pretty well," Smith said. "We'll huddle up and evaluate everything, but he gave us some chances. He did make some plays on third down, but turnovers will always hurt you."
Allgeier agreed with his coach, offering positive thoughts on Heinicke's showing.
“I thought he did pretty well," Allgeier said. "We just have to watch the film. I thought he did pretty well.”
After last week's performance against the Tennessee Titans, Heinicke said the Falcons were Ridder's team and he didn't anticipate getting the starting nod.
This week, Heinicke was more concerned about Atlanta's shortcomings than his job status entering next week, expressing a far different emotion than that of his post-Allgeier touchdown scream.
"I'm not really thinking about that right now," Heinicke said. "Still pretty pissed off about the loss. So, we'll come in tomorrow, Tuesday, Wednesday, see what happens, but I'm just thinking about the game still."
The Falcons never specified why they benched Ridder, simply saying there were "a lot of variables" - but the 24-year-old signal caller has long harped about turnovers and redzone execution when speaking to reporters at various points the past few weeks.
And in Sunday's loss, with a new face under center, those same problems showed up once more, leaving Smith searching for answers.
