FLOWERY BRANCH – With two games to play, the Falcons (7-8) are still in the playoff hunt and several things must happens for them to advance to the postseason.
The top item in each scenario? The Falcons must win, and that’s their focus heading into Sunday’s road game against Buffalo (9-6).
“It’s really pretty simple,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said on Monday. “Really, nothing else matters, but trying to win the game this weekend.”
“We just have to try to win every game in front of us and then it’ll work itself out the way it’s supposed to.”
The Falcons are currently 10th in the NFC and would need to defeat the Bills and the Saints in the regular-season finale on Jan. 9 at home - and then get the right combination of losses from several other teams.
“There are some things that you can control,” Smith said. “There are some things out of our control. But the main focus is Buffalo. There’s nothing else that matters.”
The Falcons stayed in the race when linebacker Foye Oluokun intercepted Detroit quarterback Tim Boyle in the final minute to lift the Falcons to a 20-16 victory on Sunday.
“We are taking this one game at a time and trying to go on this run,” Falcons linebacker Deion Jones said. “Our focus is Buffalo. We are definitely trying to come out of there with a win. Then we’ll see about the game back at home.”
The Falcons have not been to the playoffs since 2017. If the Falcons make it, Arthur Smith would join Mike Smith and Jim Mora as the only first-year coaches in franchise history to make the playoffs.
Mike Smith’s first team went 11-5 and earned a wildcard playoff berth.
Smith believes the win over Detroit may signal a change in the team’s culture. He was made aware that the Falcons were 2-8 in games decided by eight points or less last season and were 2-5 in those one-score games in 2019.
He noted that the Falcons are 7-2 in those games this season. Which he hopes is the foundation for my wins to come.
“I think it’s mentality,” Smith said. “The approach in the building everyday. Obviously, when you feel good about your process and the way you are doing things, you need results. We know there is a lot of work to do to get this thing sustaining to the way that we want to ultimately winning a championship. That’s our goal.”
Winning close-games is a must in the NFL where parity in the salary-cap era has been accentuated.
“There are going to be a lot of one-possession games,” Smith said. “That’s the way the league is set up. You have to have a certain mentality and can you (play good) situational football, which I think we’ve done.”
Smith believes the team will grow from winning so many close games.
“There have been a lot of critical moments this year when the game has been close in the fourth quarter,” Smith said. “It’s not going to be perfect.”
The Falcons actually took the harder path to victory against the Lions. They couldn’t run the clock out and wide receiver Russell Gage fumbled after picking up an apparent first-down.
“Obviously, we wanted to close the game,” Smith said. “The ball comes out. (Detroit linebacker Jalen) Reeves-Maybin makes a play. We don’t execute. They execute better than we do, but there is still plenty of football to play and we still won the game. I think that says a lot about the character of our team and kind of what I consider the ethos and what we’re made of.”
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