Arthur Smith earns first victory as Falcons head coach in Mercedes Benz Stadium

The monkey is finally off Arthur Smith’s back as the Falcons took down the Lions at home on Sunday, which gives the rookie head coach his first home victory.

Atlanta has won seven games under Smith, and six of them have been away. The team’s win over the Jets, which was considered a home game for scheduling purposes, came in London. This was Smith’s first win in Mercedes Benz Stadium in front of a home crowd, which he acknowledged in his postgame press conference.

“It was really nice to get a win at home, here,” Smith said. “I appreciate our fans. Our fans have been great all year.”

Arthur Smith spoke to the media after our 20-16 WIN over the Lions. pic.twitter.com/VfAr8QnVLg

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 26, 2021

There were some good things like Cordarrelle Patterson’s 11th touchdown that came on a fourth-down, Kyle Pitts’ record-breaking day, Fabian Moreau’s impressive pass breakups, and Foye Oluokun’s game-sealing interception. However, there were undoubtedly negatives — pass protection is still abysmal, and the defensive effort was subpar for much of the day.

A win is a win in the NFL, though, and the Falcons’ 20-16 victory over the Lions makes them 7-2 in one-score games under Arthur Smith. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it is asinine to assume Smith can turn this ship around in just one season; however, things are trending in the right direction for the first-year coach.