The Atlanta Falcons nearly blew Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders but the team’s dynamic safety duo came up big in the fourth quarter. Justin Simmons intercepted Raiders quarterback Desmond Ridder with nine minutes left.

For Ridder, the start comes against his old team, who drafted the Cincinnati product in the third round of the 2022 draft. He compiled an 8-9 record as a starter over two seasons in Atlanta before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals in March. Las Vegas signed Ridder off of Arizona’s practice squad in October.

The Cousins experience built real momentum for the Falcons until the wheels came off. The Falcons have dropped four straight games since beating the Dallas Cowboys in early November to get to that 6-3 record, and Cousins’ substandard play has been a leading contributor to the decline.