Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Smith teams have been awful in primetime games

The NFL has not been kind to the Atlanta Falcons when it comes to granting them primetime games over the past few years.

However, apparently, the NFL can see into the future because it is clear that they are not a good team to showcase to the whole country. They certainly made the right decision by only giving the Falcons one primetime this season and last season.

Atlanta Falcons and Arthur Smith have been far uglier than their dismal 0-2 primetime record

Last season, the Atlanta Falcons’ lone primetime game was on Thursday Night Football when they took on the New England Patriots at home on November 18th. This season, their only primetime game was on Thursday against the Carolina Panthers. Neither of these games went well for the Dirty Birds.

In total, Arthur Smith has been outscored in primetime games 50-15. Against the Patriots in 2021, Matt Ryan and the Falcons were shut out by a score of 25-0, while against the Panthers, Marcus Mariota and the Falcons were beaten down by a score of 25-15.

Also Read: Arthur Smith’s winning record curse continues.

So, apparently, when you put us alone on national television, our defense is bound to give up 25 points. At least this year we were able to crack the scoreboard a few times.

Both quarterbacks — Matt Ryan and Marcus Mariota — played extremely poorly in those two games and the Falcons’ offenses as a whole played like a bunch of toddlers.

Back to the combined stats, the Falcons were outgained on offense by 185 yards (641 to 456), threw five interceptions (one for a TD), were sacked nine times for 66 yards, were outgained on the ground by 188 yards (366 to 178), and were just 5 for 22 on third down. You can just look at those stats and guarantee you would be winless.

Hopefully, in the years to come, the Atlanta Falcons will get more opportunities to play on primetime since being scheduled for those games usually correlates with prior success.

It is worth noting that the Atlanta Falcons have a game in week 15 against the Saints that is TBD. If the game ends up being a pivotal game for the standings then the NFL may schedule it in a primetime slot, although highly unlikely.