What It Means:

Taylor Heinicke struggled in Sunday's 25-23, Week 10 loss to the Houston Texans before leaving in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. It's considered a minor issue, but Smith said he liked how Desmond Ridder looked in relief after "a reset," so Heinicke could return to backup duty after the Falcons' bye.

Heinicke completed 8 of 15 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, and rushed 4 times for 34 yards, before leaving on Sunday. He averaged negative-0.28 Passing Net Expected Points per attempt while Ridder averaged 0.38 in relief. He completed 4 of 6 pass attempts for 39 yards and rushed 3 times for 11 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Heinicke (0.10) has been more efficient than Ridder (negative-0.06), but on far fewer attempts.