Falcons: Score vs. 1-12 Panthers will tell us a lot about Arthur Smith's future

The largest point differential in a win that Arthur Smith has been able to lead his Atlanta Falcons to is 14 points. That has happened twice, once last year against the San Francisco 49ers, of all teams, and the other was the first game of this season against the Panthers.

On Sunday, Smith's team plays a 1-12 Carolina Panthers team that has been terrible all season. Beyond having zero excuses to not lose this game, there are zero excuses for this game not to be a blowout in favor of the Falcons. The final score will tell us a lot about Smith's ability and his future.

Arthur Smith must lead his Atlanta Falcons to a blowout win vs. the Panthers

Arthur Smith has won 20 games as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. 15 of those games ended in one-score games. While it is excellent to be able to win those close games, sometimes it is inexcusable to not blow a team out and that is the case in the Falcons' week 15 game against the Carolina Panthers.

The Falcons, who are still in the thick of the playoff push, will travel to Charlotte to play the Panthers. It is a Panthers team that appears to be tanking—the only problem is that they don't own a first-round pick, so apparently they are tanking for the Chicago Bears.

Arthur Smith has to make a statement in this game after coming up short in the biggest game of his head coaching career. This game should not be close and he needs to prove that he can get the simple things done.

It has been a huge weakness of his. He has only had five wins in three years where the opponent couldn't change the game around on one drive. He needs to prove that he can lead a team that can beat up a 1-12 Panthers team.