Falcons’ Arthur Smith says team needs ‘self-reflection’ after second game loss: ‘It feels so ugly’

Less than two weeks ago, Atlanta Falcons flew high after defeating the opponent New Orleans Saints at the Superdome to move on to .500 into the season and join the wild card conversation in NFC. Fast-forward now and not only have they lost two in a row, they’ve been embarrassed – first by 40 points Dallas Cowboys and 4 days later, with a 25-point loss on their field to rookies in the first round Mac Jones and New England Patriots.

What’s worse is that they haven’t scored in the last two games and have only won three points in their last eight quarters, playing football that lacks vitality and fails to capitalize on their improved defensive effort. good on Thursday night.

Head coach Arthur Smith told the media after the loss to the Patriots, via the team’s website: “It feels terrible right now and in this moment. “Obviously you guys feel pretty bad. When you go 4-4, win big and then obviously you’ve watched the last two games. We’ve done that before.

“It’s constantly improving. You hope it doesn’t have to be a roller coaster ride. We have to fix things and we’ll fix them and we’ll fix them in no time.”

That’s all to say the least, but let’s say goodbye for a bit before we face Jacksonville Jaguars may not have had enough time to deal with the issues that led them to start Smith’s inaugural season in Atlanta with a 1-3 record and now two straight losses leaving two games under 0.500. The defense put in a better effort on Thursday night but they weren’t as consistent as the whole team’s offense, and it was an offense that now threw seven interceptions in the final game and let Ryan six disqualification times.

The Falcons had no shortage of opportunities against the Patriots, but simply couldn’t take advantage of any of them.

“There wasn’t much that we did well tonight,” Smith said. “You don’t score and you don’t take advantage when you get a chance. … We didn’t do enough to put us in the final game of the game.

“…We’re going to take this weekend off and do a lot of self-reflection. We’re going to get out of this hole. Because we have to and we will. And we’ve got the right people to do it. do that.”

Looking at their list of upcoming games, which includes rematches against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a team of Carolina Panthers that reinstalled Cam Newton at QB, that’s easier said than done.