FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – A day following the Falcons' brutal 43-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, coach Arthur Smith is ready to move forward.
"You gotta turn the page quick," Smith said. "You need to do it anyway, but especially when you have a short week. We have a great challenge coming in here in New England."
That's easier said than done, but the Falcons have just about mastered the ability of bouncing back after losses this season. After the team's last three losses, they responded with wins, often in games that came down to the offense driving the length of the field and ending with a game-winning field goal from Younghoe Koo.
And their ability to bounce back starts with Smith's mindset.
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Smith has emphasized the importance of looking at games objectively since training camp and how essential that outlook is with wins and losses.
"You can't get too overly excited," Smith said. "...You see it week after week if you look around the league, and it's a humbling game. That's what I love about it."
This season more than any other in recent memory, has proven how humbling the NFL can be. The Chiefs, who have gone to back-to-back Super Bowls, struggled early this season,. They began 2-3 and near the top of the league in turnovers before going on a four-game winning streak and now in the driver seat of the AFC West.
The 1-5 Jaguars beat the Super contender Bills and held them to six points in week nine. Even the Cowboys were down 30-0 in the fourth quarter just last week, eventually losing 30-16 and having their six-game win streak snapped.
So it is safe to say that things change quickly in the NFL, especially this year.
The good thing for the Falcons is that they will get an opportunity to rid the bad taste of a 40-point this loss quickly, with the New England Patriots coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Thursday Night Football.
"It's a good thing we play Thursday," Smith said. "When you play a game like that, you wanna move on as quick as possible, so I'm kinda glad we're playing Thursday."
Falcons Final Whistle | A Postgame Podcast
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Welcome to Falcons Final Whistle – an Atlanta Falcons football postgame podcast during the season that shifts gears in the offseason to answer a pressing question about the team's future each week through free agency, the NFL Draft and the offseason program.
