Desmond Ridder's first NFL start for Atlanta will be New Orleans QB Andy Dalton's 159th

When former University of Cincinnati Bearcats standout Desmond Ridder makes his first National Football League start for the Atlanta Falcons, it's scheduled to come against former long-time Cincinnati Bengals starter Andy Dalton - making his 159th NFL start - and the New Orleans Saints.

It's a showdown Cincinnati sports fans are begging on social media to see Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern on Fox instead of the Dallas Cowboys-Jacksonville Jaguars game scheduled to be shown throughout much of the country - including Cincinnati.

Per 506sports.com, the Falcons-Saints game is only being shown on Fox in all of Alabama, most of Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, and parts of Florida, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Ridder, a third-round pick of the Falcons in the 2022 NFL Draft, found out earlier this week that he'll replace Marcus Mariota as Atlanta's starter. Ridder helped UC to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last year in his fourth season as the Bearcats' quarterback.

Dalton, who started his third game for a third team in three seasons against the Bengals two months ago, trails only Ken Anderson among Cincinnati's all-time leaders in passing yardage after nine seasons with the Bengals from 2011 to 2019. He suffered a back injury during the Saints' Week 6 loss to Cincinnati.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Desmond Ridder's first NFL start will be Andy Dalton's 159th