The Atlanta Falcons lost to the team with the worst record in the NFL in Week 15 after falling to the Carolina Panthers, 9-7.
The loss pushed the Falcons down to 6-8 and third in the NFC South.
While the season isn’t technically over for Atlanta, the Falcons are on a two-game losing streak and would more than likely need to win out to secure a playoff spot.
Since there are still three games left, though, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith remains optimistic that the team can turn things around in the final stretch of the season.
“We’re not where we want to be and we’ve lost close games, but it’s not over,” Smith said. “And we will die trying to make sure we get this right.”
"We will die trying to make sure we get this right."#Falcons coach Arthur Smith talks about the lack of the team success after losing to a 1-win #Panthers team.
(h/t @MilesGarrettTV) pic.twitter.com/Do6R6fiTdRhttps://t.co/nWREwLD25K
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 18, 2023
The Falcons lost their past two games – both against NFC South opponents – by four points and three points, respectively.
They lost both those games on last-minute scores by their opponents as well, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored a touchdown with 31 seconds left in the game and the Panthers notched a field goal as time expired.
Atlanta’s three previous losses from Weeks 8-10 were all also by one score each.
This pattern is the symptom of a team that looks OK at times but can’t hold on at the end.
Quarterback Desmond Ridder has thrown four interceptions in the past four games – including one in the red zone in Week 15 that allowed the Panthers to drive down the field and win the game.
It will take a lot of fixing in a short amount of time to right the ship if the Falcons want to make the playoffs.
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