Desmond Ridder will look to build off his best passing performance of the season when the Atlanta Falcons host the struggling Washington Commanders on Sunday. Nearly one week after reporters asked Atlanta coach Arthur Smith if he would move in a different direction with his QB1, Ridder connected with 10 different receivers and passed for a career-high 329 yards in the Falcons' 21-19 comeback win over the Houston Texans last Sunday. The second-year pro completed 28 of 37 passes and added one passing and one rushing score. On the 10-play, 56-yard game-winning drive in the waning moments, Ridder completed all five of his pass attempts, which eventually led to Younghoe Koo nailing a 37-yard field goal as time expired. "His teammates believe in him," Smith said. "And again, you got a quarterback making his ninth NFL start (Sunday), those guys believe in him so it's more like, ‘Hey, let's go, we've got your back.' I thought he played well and responded." Kyle Pitts and Drake London were heavily involved in the air attack in the win over Houston. Pitts hauled in seven catches for 87 yards, while London had six receptions for 78 yards. It was the first time this season that the talented duo had big outputs in the same game. Jonnu Smith is tied for the team lead in receptions (21) and leads in receiving yards (246) for Atlanta (3-2), but he has yet to find the end zone. In addition to leading the team in rushing (364 yards), dynamic rookie running back Bijan Robinson has been a reliable weapon in the passing game, sharing the team lead in catches with Jonnu Smith. His one-handed, 6-yard TD grab gave the Falcons a lead against the Texans early in the fourth quarter. Atlanta's defense has been one of the league's top units through five games. The Falcons rank seventh in total yards allowed per game (295.2) and rank 10th in scoring defense (19.2 points allowed per game). The Commanders (2-3) have lost three straight games and are coming off a disappointing 40-20 loss to the Chicago Bears last Thursday night. Washington had no answer for the Bears' offense, in particular Justin Fields and DJ Moore. Fields passed for 282 yards and four touchdowns and added 57 yards on the ground. Moore finished with eight catches for a career-high 230 yards and three TDs. When asked about his team's performance, Washington coach Ron Rivera was quick to the point. "It starts at the top," Rivera said. "That part is on me." One major bright spot for Washington has been the play of quarterback Sam Howell. After passing for 290 yards and a score in a heartbreaking 34-31 overtime loss to Philadelphia in Week 4, Howell put together a 388-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Bears despite being sacked five times. Following a strong start to the season, running back Brian Robinson had six carries for just 10 yards in the loss to Chicago. Logan Thomas is coming off his best game of the season and has emerged as a favorite target of Howell. He had nine receptions for 77 yards and a score on 11 targets last week. Right tackle Kaleb McGary (knee), outside linebacker Bud Dupree (wrist) and Jonnu Smith (ankle) were limited in Atlanta's practice on Wednesday. Tight end Curtis Hodges (illness) and cornerback Christian Holmes (hamstring) did not participate for Washington in its Wednesday session. —Field Level Media
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Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes has derided the lack of patience in modern football, insisting the recent transfer window shows football has gone off the rails .
Premier League spending exceeded £1billion in the window, while European giants Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund all invested heavily in their squads.
Heynckes, who led Bayern to treble glory in his final season as a coach in 2012-13, says football has now lost its spirit as a result of the demand for immediate results.
Just look at this inflated transfer window, Heynckes told Die Welt newspaper. Football has gone off the rails.
It s lost its spirit. Football is business. It s all about being quick, quick, quick nobody has any patience nowadays.
B…
Bournemouth have signed Danish midfielder Philip Billing from relegated Huddersfield Town for a reported £15million.
The 23-year-old has signed a long-term contract with the Premier League club.
A former Denmark Under-21 international, Billing has shown promise since joining Huddersfield six years ago and successfully made the transition from the academy to the first-team squad.
He played a rotation role as the Terriers earned promotion from the Championship in 2016-17, and eventually became something of a regular last term, featuring 27 times in the Premier League.
Can we have the bill please?
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth)
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West Brom boss Alan Pardew hopes Daniel Sturridge can show he is as good as Harry Kane during the rest of the season.
The striker signed from Liverpool on loan on Monday after struggling for game time at Anfield in 2017-18.
Sturridge is also believed to be desperate for regular football to force his way back into the England squad ahead of the World Cup in Russia, which begins in June.
Pardew feels the 28-year-old is of the same calibre as Tottenham sensation Kane and is confident England boss Gareth Southgate will monitor his form at The Hawthorns closely.
You would have to put him in the same category as Harry Kane, Pardew said. Harry has had a great spell in terms of fitness and is at the top of his game. It s understandable that he is probably ahead …
Teams will be allowed to make five substitutions from nine players on the bench for the EFL Cup semi-finals and final.
The change in the rule was introduced following consultation with Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Brentford, the four semi-finalists in the 2020-21 competition.
VAR will also be introduced, having not been involved in previous rounds.
The EFL added in a statement on Monday: Each team is only permitted a maximum of three opportunities (excluding half time, full time and half time of extra time) to make substitutions during normal time. However, if a tie goes to extra time, an additional opportunity to use a substitute(s) will also be permitted but only from the five substitutes allowed.
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Fabrizio Romano has claimed on that Matteo Guendouzi will not return to Arsenal from his loan spell at Hertha Berlin. The well-known transfer market expert has said that German club Hertha want to keep the French midfielder for the rest of the season.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1348966224881995776
Guendouzi with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta last season and was offloaded to Hertha in Germany on a loan deal in the summer of 2020. The 21-year-old midfielder has made an immediate impact at the Berlin club and has established himself as an important player in the team.
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Gareth Bale accepts it will be difficult for Wales to keep their World Cup dream alive following Friday s demoralising 2-0 defeat to Iran.
Bale became Wales most capped player by making his 110th international appearance at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, but he was virtually anonymous as Iran dealt a huge blow to his team s hopes of progressing from Group B.
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It s guttin…
Manchester United walked away triumphant from Carrow Road on Saturday, having beaten Norwich City through a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.
It s fair to say the Canaries boss Dean Smith wasn t too happy with the way referee Darren England conducted the show.
It was too easy for Man United to referee the game today, Rashford game himself a free-kick in the first half.
Dean Smith questions the decisions in the game as he felt it was not a foul on Ronaldo for the penalty
— Football Daily (@footballdaily)
…
Luton Town missed an inviting chance to escape the Premier League s bottom three after Friday s hard-fought 1-1 draw with Everton at Kenilworth Road.
Rob Edwards side would have leapfrogged 17th-placed Nottingham Forest – who visit Sheffield United on Saturday – with a victory, but were instead left level on points with Nuno Espirito Santo s team.
The fit-again Elijah Adebayo cancelled out Dominic Calvert-Lewin s 24th-minute penalty in an entertaining first half, though neither side could find a winner in an end-to-end second period.
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It finishes level.
— Luton Town FC (@L…
Julian Alvarez’s fine first-half strike handed Manchester City a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle in their first home match since winning the treble on Saturday.
The World Cup winner curled a shot into the top corner after 31 minutes of a tight Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium and it proved enough for the champions to claim all three points.
Newcastle, buoyed by thrashing Aston Villa 5-1 in their season opener last week, had travelled in hope of claiming their first league win at City for almost 23 years.
FULL-TIME | ALL THREE POINTS! |
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
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Head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping star striker Harry Kane can finally end his goal drought when Tottenham host Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday.
Despite netting against San Marino and Switzerland in England s Euro 2016 qualifiers earlier this month, Kane has yet to convert in five appearances for his club this campaign.
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