LISTEN: Despite Win, Were Falcons Outcoached By Lions Sunday?

Atlanta Falcons rookie head coach Arthur Smith won his seventh career game last Sunday against fellow rookie head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions.
However, in a game in which the Falcons were favored by a touchdown, the team won by just four points and would've lost on the final possession if not for linebacker Foye Oluokun's heroics.
The Falcons also benefitted from rookie Kyle Pitts' six catches and 102 yards in the win.
The talent was able to pull the team out of the woods, but did the coaching staff do enough to put the team in a position to succeed?
The Falcons winning seven games this season and still having a shot at the playoffs in January is an overachievement. While Smith has shown his inexperience as a coach at times, he has been able to shift the team towards a culture that has translated into wins.
Each one of the team's wins has been by eight points or less. The team isn't talented compared to the rest of the NFL, but they play well when the game is close.
The wins might look ugly, but the standings don't care about style , only substance.
On this episode of "Locked On Falcons," host Aaron Freeman shares his takeaways from the Falcons' 20-16 win over the Lions in Week 16.
He summarizes the game, including discussing the big days for Pitts and Oluokun, as well as grades out the Falcons offense, defense and special teams.
Then, he breaks down why he thought the Lions were the better-coached team and what it says about the Falcons' level of coaching and talent that they barely could pull off the victory on Sunday.
Aaron deals with all that and more on this episode of "Locked On Falcons." For more podcasts and information, join us here.

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.
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