The Falcons remain in the hunt for the NFC South title, but those hopes suffered a blow on Sunday with a brutal 9-7 loss to the Panthers.
Atlanta gained just 204 yards, with Tyler Allgeier receiving almost as many snaps as first-round pick Bijan Robinson and seven more touches. The Falcons have benched Desmond Ridder for the second time this season.
Coach Arthur Smith is in the hot seat.
Owner Arthur Blank discussed Smith's future in an interview with Georgia Public Broadcasting's Jeff Hullinger on Tuesday.
Blank gave no indication of a fourth season for Smith, who must win to avoid a third straight season.
“We are committed to Coach Smith,” Blank told Hullinger. “We will play these last three games. We are determined to win. We'll let the season play out and go from there. Obviously, this wasn't the year we expected. This is what you would hear from Coach Smith; You would hear it from our fans and our players. We understand that. We understand the challenges. At the end of the year we will assess where we are and go from there.”
Hullinger then asked if the Falcons needed to get to the playoffs to save Smith's job.
“No, that was never really a requirement,” Blank said. “The requirement was that we have a more competitive team this year. I think this part of the season has been a mixed bag, honestly. That's what I think and that's what the coach would say. Arthur is a very honest, very. . . . He sees himself very critically, so he comes from a wonderful family with great values and reflects these values in his leadership as best he can. So we’ll see how the season develops and what happens next.”
Smith is 20-28 and the Falcons have started four quarterbacks in his three seasons. Their inability to find a capable replacement for Matt Ryan, who failed in his final seasons in Atlanta, has led the Falcons astray.
They haven't been to the playoffs since 2017, and since they've lost their last two games to division opponents, they probably won't make it this year. So not only are the Falcons continuing to look for a franchise quarterback, but they could also be looking for a different head coach in the offseason.