3 Arthur Smith decisions that cost the Atlanta Falcons playoff positioning

2. Arthur Smith's 2-4 record against eliminated teams

The Atlanta Falcons lost this season to the Titans, Panthers, Cardinals, and Commanders. Losing to four of the worst teams in football in the same season is impressive in the worst type of way. Atlanta simply needed to win one of these games to still be in control of the NFC South or at least have a great chance to win the division.

The Panthers game is going to be the one that catches the most heat this off-season. How does this team fail against a roster that has already fired their head coach, and is relying on Adam Thielen as the primary playmaker? You can look at the Tampa Bay loss in a similar category with the Falcons being in complete control before a familiar collapse at the end of the game allowed Baker to take control of the division.

If these miserably close losses were against the league's better teams it wouldn't be making headlines. However, the Falcons were beaten four times by teams that were eliminated before Christmas.

Coaching matters in this league and if your leader is close to capable you find a way to win at least two of these games, Arthur Smith lost all four.