Arthur Smith gets a much needed win for his Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons were finally able to keep a game close as the final minutes ticked off the clock, resulting in the first career win of Arthur Smith’s head coaching career.

It was anything but pretty for the team, but somehow, someway, they were able to pull out a win on their way back home. The defense made just enough plays to be able to give the ball back to the offense with just a few minutes left, followed by a game-winning kick by Younghoe Koo.

This felt like a “must-win” for Arthur Smith and the Falcons early in the season.

The Atlanta Falcons are now 1-2 on the season and were able to avoid a catastrophic 0-3 start to the season.

While the Falcons have not exactly looked like a good team, the fact that they were able to scrape a win out creates a chance that they could turn their season around and actually do something with it.

The chances that they do that with the way they are playing right now, is next to none. They will not win very many more games if the offense can only score 17-points — simply no way around that fact.

But in the event that Arthur Smith and Matt Ryan turn a corner and get this offense in high gear, they could actually have a chance at making it as a wildcard team. Say that is crazy, but look at the schedule — it is not that difficult.

Atlanta plays the three worst teams in football right now — Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions.

They play numerous teams who have been mediocre through three weeks — New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers.

Then there are the divisional games where you never know what could happen. Atlanta could end up beating Tampa Bay at home in their next matchup, they could sweep either the Saints or Panthers, division games always have a way of going in the most unexpected ways.

Fans need to realize something about the NFL, you just never know what can take place during an NFL season. Think back to week one of the Super Bowl season for Atlanta, they lost an awful game to a bad Buccaneers team but then went on to have one of the greatest offenses in NFL history.

The Falcons are sitting with the same exact record as the Kansas City Chiefs! No one is saying that the Chiefs have no shot to make the playoffs now. However, are the Chiefs a better team and a more established team? Definitely, but it goes to show that crazier things have happened.

You just never know what might take place over the next 15 weeks for the Atlanta Falcons.