The Atlanta Falcons have seen a star emerge in the past few weeks with rookie wide receiver Calvin Ridley vastly exceeding expectations. The 23-year-old has played so well that he's made many forget able to Julio Jones, but on Sunday against the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta was dealt a major blow.

According to Vaughn McClure of ESPN, Ridley suffered an ankle injury against the Bucs which sent him to the sideline and was unable to return to the field.

Falcons rookie wide receiver Calvin Ridley injured an ankle in the first half of Sunday's matchup with Tampa Bay and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Before going down with the ankle injury, Ridley was making an impact once again with his play. The rookie wideout had three catches in the first half for 47 yards and was well on his way to another productive outing.

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In order to put Ridley's impact in perspective, he's emerged as Matt Ryan's favorite target in the end zone with six touchdowns already this season. That number is double the amount of touchdowns that Jones had last year and matches his total from the 2015 campaign. Jones has yet to record an end zone visit this season even though he continues to rack the receiving yards.

If Ridley's injury proves to be serious or something that keeps him out a considerable amount of time, the Falcons will be in even more trouble moving forward. The team has struggled this season as they came into today's matchup with Tampa Bay having won only one game this season.

In Week 7, Atlanta will take on the New York Giants. The Falcons have a good opportunity to get something going with a win this week as well as the next, but without Ridley that could prove difficult.