The Atlanta Falcons trailed 21-0 in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they refused to go quietly, fighting right up until the bitter end.
This time, however, the end was more bitter than usual. After scoring 15 straight points to cut the Bucs’ lead to six, Grady Jarrett sacked Tom Brady on third down, which would have given the ball back to Atlanta with about three minutes left.
Although, the Falcons never got the ball back because the officials made a highly questionable roughing-the-passer call on Jarrett that effectively ended the game.
Fans and NFL analysts alike were in agreement that the NFL botched the end of the game. When asked about the penalty on Monday, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith wasn’t willing to dwell on.
“It’s like a lot of things in life, [you] control what you can control,” Smith told reporters on Monday afternoon. “And what we can control is how to get better. We have a huge game Sunday here in Atlanta against the Niners, so that’s what our focus is now.”
Falcons coach Arthur Smith on the Grady Jarrett roughing the passer call. pic.twitter.com/rrS6ItbyP1
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) October 10, 2022
Smith also wasn’t willing to place the blame for Sunday’s loss entirely on that one call, saying the Falcons had several possessions earlier in the game which they failed to capitalize on.
Arthur Smith said ATL had enough possessions to be in the position to win. Can't be all-in on one play, one call when there were other series that yielded no points. Similar sentiment to what players were saying after the game about being more consistent through all 4Qs.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) October 10, 2022
Smith has a point, though, and you’re not going to win many NFL games when you get shut out through the first three quarters, as Atlanta did on Sunday.
