Falcons Coach Arthur Smith Ready to 'Get Back to Work' Following Loss vs. Bengals
The Atlanta Falcons sustained their most embarrassing loss of the season Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium. The Falcons dropped their second game in three tries in a 35-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
As one of the league's most respected defensive teams, the Falcons allowed the Bengals to score a season-high in points. And following the game, coach Arthur Smith had one message for the team.
"Back to work," Smith said. "Credit to Cincinnati, but we did not do a good enough job being ready to play against a good team on the road.
"Thankfully, it only counts as one. It's a long season. We have to get back to work and make sure we get these corrections and be ready to go against a divisional team at home."
Excluding Baker Mayfield, who missed Week 7 due to an injury, the Falcons have meetings against four Pro-Bowl caliber quarterbacks remaining on their schedule. Smith is hoping that no opposing team's quarterback replicates the success Joe Burrow had against the Falcons' weakened secondary.
Burrow obliterated the Falcons by throwing for 481 yards while connecting on 80 percent of his pass attempts. Burrow's career day in passing yards ranked third-most in franchise history.
We threw different looks at him [Burrow], but we just didn't execute," Smith said. "There were times we got to him. But even when he was off track, he came back and hurt us. He found the soft spots in the zones."
Smith did not place complete blame on the Falcons' defense following their embarrassing defeat. With only 214 yards recorded on the road, Smith admitted that the Falcons' offense did not help their performance against the Bengals, given their inability to sustain drives.
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