What head coach Arthur Smith said about game management in the final quarter of the loss to the Washington Commanders
Breaking down three key moments in the fourth quarter, with Arthur Smith’s commentary on what happened and why certain decisions were made.
ATLANTA — In the final quarter of the Falcons’ 24-16 loss to the Washington Commanders at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, the Falcons’ offensive unit ran into a problem they have yet to encounter in 2023. The problem is due to poor communication. and procedural issues, head coach Arthur Smith said after the loss.
The Falcons lacked a certain sense of cleanliness during their fourth-quarter run. This has never been more clearly demonstrated than in three specific and important match situations. With commentary and explanation directly from Smith, we take a look back at the final three moments that secured Washington’s victory in Atlanta.
Situation #1:
The falcon goes 2
What happened:
The Falcons were down 14 as the third quarter stretched into the fourth. They moved the ball well to start the final quarter, after reaching the Washington 2-yard line following a neutral zone violation by the Commander’s defense. With a short throw from Desmond Ridder to Jonnu Smith, the Falcons got into the end zone. With the score 24-16 and with 12:
With 38 minutes left, the Falcons decided to attempt a 2-point conversion.
The first down had the Falcons trying to attack Drake London on an island with a defender in the end zone. Washington’s defender in coverage was called for defensive pass interference, so the 2-point conversion play was retried and moved to Washington’s one-yard line. Tyler Allgeier received the serve, but he was standing at the same court line. The Falcons couldn’t convert and the score remained at 24-16.
What was said:
After the game, Smith was asked about the decision to go for two with so much time left on the clock.
“We did that last year in (Los Angeles),” Smith said. “We’re down 14. You’re in the fourth quarter. These are the consequences you have to bear. We did it in Los Angeles and even got to six. We did that in Tampa last year, right? Over there. Down 14, late. You have two chances. You understand, it’s a six-point game. We’ve done it before. They receive punishment. We took them there, then they arrested us. We did it last year, twice.”
The difference in these situations is the time left on the clock. In Week 2 of the 2022 season against the Rams, the Falcons were down 31-17 when Troy Andersen blocked a punt that Lorenzo Carter returned for a touchdown. The Falcons came out – with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter – and were able to convert the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 31-25.
Against the Buccaneers in Week 5 of the 2022 season, the Falcons were down 21-7 when they lost with less than five minutes left in the game, by 2 points and this one was also successful, cutting the deficit to number down to 21 -15. Ultimately, Atlanta lost both of those games.
Situation #2:
End zone interception by Desmond Ridder
What happened:
After the defense stopped three points after a failed 2-point conversion, the Falcons’ offense stormed back, taking over at their own 11-yard line. About five minutes later, the Falcons were in a very good position. Daron Payne was flagged for a neutral zone violation, putting the Falcons on second-and-goal at the 2-yard line.
The second play was found to be incomplete. A delay penalty then pushed the Falcons back five yards. Now, instead of third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, it’s third-and-goal from the 7. Two very different situations.
With them on third down, the play clock ticked away without the Falcons snapping the ball to start third down. The Falcons broke the huddle with 15 seconds left to end the huddle within a second of the ball finally being snapped. Once broken, the work appears confused from the start. With London in the back of the end zone, Ridder attempted to recover the receiver but the throw failed and fell into the hands of Benjamin St-Juste.
What was said:
After the game, Smith was asked about the delay of play penalty and the subsequent interception. Ultimately, Smith said there was a misunderstanding. Ridder made it clear that it was a matter of communication between him and London regarding the route London was taking.
“There’s a lot going on, right? We got a penalty, then the clock stopped. The match was delayed. It changed the scenario and we need to be a lot cleaner, and we will be,” Smith said. “We have some guys that need to come out. Our operations are not very clean. We will fix this.”
“Then, in the third minute, in extra time of the game, we had a bit of a communication problem. It’s all our fault. We must improve. We must fix it. »
When asked if he felt Ridder was panicking about the situation as the clock ticked closer and closer to zero, Smith said no.
“There’s no need to panic,” Smith said. “There’s a lot to do with logistics. The only thing Des won’t do is panic. It’s not like that. Like I said, communication matters. It happened.”
Situation #3:
The Falcons took advantage of their final timeout
What happened:
The Falcons had another chance to score after another defensive stop gave them the ball back just after the 2-minute warning. At their own 7-yard line, the Falcons began a 2-minute drill, Move the ball effectively with just one timeout remaining.
After advancing the ball to Washington’s 34-yard line, Ridder threw the ball leaving just over 30 seconds left on the clock. The Falcons still led 24-16.
As the game clock ended, Smith was once again forced to use his final timeout after the Falcons clocked him on the previous play. As time expired, Ridder’s pass intended for Bijan Robinson was intercepted. The match officially ended afterwards with the commander’s winning squad.
What was said:
After the game, Smith was asked if he should burn his last timeout so he wouldn’t have to incur another delay-of-game penalty.
“We had some communication issues because of the huddle, which slowed down the process, so I wasn’t going to fall behind,” Smith said. We have to do better.”
One of the main issues for the Falcons in their Week 6 loss had to do with game management, procedural penalties (or near-penalties in some cases) and communication. According to Smith, this is not a normal problem for the Falcons and is something they need to fix quickly.
“Sometimes, it’s a snowball effect,” Smith said. You move a guy here, there. That seems like an excuse, but that’s what happened.” “We all need to be better. It will always start with me. That shouldn’t be a problem, but it was (Sunday). It must be recognized. And that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
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