ATLANTA (AP) — Arthur Smith wanted to relish his first winning record in his three seasons as the Atlanta Falcons’ coach.
In his news conference following Sunday’s 24-10 season-opening win over the Carolina Panthers, Smith wasn’t interested in a question which began by noting that his quarterback, Desmond Ridder, had more catches than his No. 1 wide receiver, Drake London.
On the game’s first snap, Ridder caught the deflection of his pass for a loss of 6 yards. Ridder threw for only 115 yards and London had no catches with only one target.
It was not a great showing for Atlanta’s passing game, but the running game led by rookie Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier and the bolstered defense led by Jessie Bates were enough to beat the Panthers.
Smith brushed off the question about Ridder and London.