The Falcons sit one game under .500 through nine games, and it’s an eerily similar position as the past two years under Arthur Smith, and the only difference is now he doesn’t have a crutch to lean on.
Through his first two seasons, Smith fielded some pretty talentless teams but somehow scraped together 14 wins. Now, with more talent than he knows what to do with, Smith’s Falcons are spinning their wheels after dropping two very winnable games.
Against a second-round rookie making his NFL debut, the Falcons made Will Levis look like a seasoned veteran. Then, they turned around and let Josh Dobbs, who was with the Vikings for less than a week, lead a comeback with teammates whose names he didn’t even know.
The Falcons started Taylor Heinicke and put up the most points they have all season, but they still wasted opportunities. Most notably, late in the first quarter with the ball on the goal line thanks to a turnover from the defense.
Atlanta was on the one-yard line and left with three points. The play sequence was penalty, Jonnu Smith pass, Jonnu Smith end around, and Tyler Allgeier run… Two top 10 draft picks (Drake London was hurt this game) didn’t see a single touch inside the 10 yard line.
The Falcons defense gave up some big plays due to lapses in coverage and poor tackling so that certainly contributed to the backbreaking loss, but the fact of the matter is this team is far too talented to be among the bottom five scoring offenses and sitting 4-5 through Week 9.
It’s Arthur Smith’s team, and he deserves to shoulder the blame. If the Falcons miss the postseason again, I don’t know how Arthur Blank isn’t thinking about making a change at head coach. It probably isn’t, but Smith’s seat should at least be getting warm right now.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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