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The Atlanta Falcons suffered the worst loss of their season, in a weird, ugly 9-7 game that was awful for their NFC East title chances. The Carolina Panthers were 1-12 prior to the game against Arthur Smith's team, but Desmond Ridder and his teammates somehow found a way to lose.
This game was critical for the Atlanta Falcons season. All three teams atop the NFC South had a 6-7 record, and playing the Panthers was by far the easiest game of the week for the three contenders. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-20, while the New Orleans Saints won 24-6 over the New York Giants as well.
NFL fans were extremely upset with Desmond Ridder after the game, especially about the interception he threw late in the fourth quarter that gave the Panthers a chance to win the game. And they didn't mince words about him:
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NFL fans not happy with the possibility of Arthur Smith returning to Falcons in 2023
The Atlanta Falcons are fighting for the NFC South, but the team is far from being competitive with the upper tier of the conference. The sole reason why they've been able to fight for the division until today is that the NFC South was in the middle of a three-way tie between the Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints.
And now, it's extremely difficult to envision a way for them to recover and qualify for the postseason.
However, it looks like changes are unlikely to come to the team barring a collapse in the remaining four games. A recent report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said that Arthur Smith is likely to survive another year as the head coach in Atlanta, barring a series of horrendous results in the final month.
Atlanta fans were absolutely furious with the decision, especially as this is his third season at the helm and there are still no signs of great progress. They had the excuse of Marcus Mariota in 20222, but they've moved on to Desmond Ridder in 2023 and there's still no noticeable improvement in Atlanta:
Falcons Nation! Check out the latest Atlanta Falcons Schedule and dive into the latest Falcons Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.
