By hook or by crook, Arthur Smith is avenging the losses of the Falcons past

Against all reasonable odds, and against all sane logic, not only do the 2021 Atlanta Falcons have a record of .500, but they also sit in a playoff spot. Yes, despite dreadful defense, and “hot and cold” offense, the Falcons are firmly in the picture for post-season football. Miracles are happening, here, people.

It’s difficult to not, but try not to get carried away. On Sunday, the victory over the Saints was the Falcons’ first victory over a team with a winning record since they hosted the Las Vegas Raiders in November 2020. In order for the Falcons to make the post-season, they’ll need to find victory in those types of fixtures from here on out. However, what I’ve noticed from the Falcons’ victories this season is how they mirror defeats of old.

Wins #1 and #2

In September, as the Atlanta Falcons flew out of New Jersey with their first win of the season, I was reminded of the trip to LA in 2020, and how the Falcons were a field goal away from defeating the Chargers. In that scenario, the Falcons would through two interceptions in the final minutes, and ultimately hand LA the victory. Against the Giants, they did not falter. Ryan connected with Pitts for a large chunk of yardage, and the Falcons put the ball, and the game, on a swing of Younghoe Koo’s right leg.

A week later, the Falcons hosted Washington, and, despite a commanding lead, saw that lead squandered with some overly conservative playcalling, poor execution, and, frankly, awful defense. They would follow that defeat by traveling to London and hosting the Jets. There, they held a commanding lead, before squandering it thanks to poor execution, and awful defense. When push came to shove, however, Smith’s playcalling did not become conservative. Quite the opposite. A 40 yard strike to breakout star, Kyle Pitts, saw the Falcons regain momentum, and they flew home with a sweet victory.

Learning from your own mistakes

That win resonated with me for two reasons Firstly, Arthur Smith showed he was capable of learning from his mistakes and sought to rectify them as quickly as he could. For the duration of training camp, we heard about how Smith was blowing drills dead the moment he noticed an issue, rather than letting it play out and trying to fix it in the film room. This felt like the in-season version of that. Secondly, the last time the Falcons took a commanding lead in London, they managed to lose to the Detroit Lions, despite a 21-0 lead at halftime. Seeing the Falcons close out a win from that position felt like closure on that sorry chapter in Falcons history.

After the bye week, they traveled to Miami, to face a Dolphins team that had just lost in London themselves, to Jacksonville. There, they (you guessed it), held a commanding lead, and let it salt away in the 4th quarter. They got to work, and, thanks to another excellent showing by Kyle Pitts, managed to get into solid field position, albeit with a good amount of time left. The Falcons managed the clock well, Koo kicked the field goal, and they walked away with a victory. This win felt eerily similar to the 2020 defeat to Detroit, where Todd Gurley was specifically asked to not score a touchdown, so to not give Stafford the opportunity to win them the game, and did it anyway. Neither Davis, nor Patterson scored. The Falcons won.

The Falcons led by 18 points this weekend, and the Saints started to rotate a second quarterback, Taysom Hill, into the mix to try and generate something. They chipped away at that lead, but gave the Falcons just over a minute to work their way into field goal range. Which they did with one pass from Ryan to Patterson. The Falcons kicked the field goal as time expired, and walked out of New Orleans with another win. In 2020, the Falcons held a 16 point lead over the Bears heading into the fourth quarter, and their opposition rotated in Nick Foles in relief of Mitchell Trubisky. Foles chipped away at that lead, and, with little over a minute left, the Falcons found themselves down by 4, and would ultimately lose.

More to come?

These aren’t perfect mirrors, of course, but it feels like this Falcons side is seeking to right the wrongs of losses past. And there is a TONNE of losses to atone for, but they’re slowly whittling away at them, one by one. This coming weekend, they travel to Dallas, the site of the onside kick debacle of last season, before hosting the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football. That game won’t offer closure (and I’m not sure the Falcons are capable of making the game that will in 2021), but it would go some way to helping us move on from the previous collapse.

This probably isn’t how the Falcons would like to win games, and I can say with certainty that fans would prefer the Falcons to be a little more comprehensive with their victories. But it’s enough now to give Falcons fans something to cling onto and to look forward to in the future. By hook or by crook, Arthur Smith is avenging the losses of the Falcons past. Long may it continue.