Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank: ‘There’s no way you lose that game’

The only thing worse than an owner giving a coach a tepid vote of confidence is the owner not giving the coach a vote of confidence.

After the Atlanta Falcons’ collapse in London, turning a 21-0 halftime lead into a really ugly 22-21 loss, Falcons owner Arthur Blank made it very clear he was not happy.

“You’re up 21-0,” Blank said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There’s no way you lose that game — just no way. There’s nothing else I can say.”

That’s not very comforting to head coach Mike Smith and his staff.

Smith was already one of the NFL coaches on the hot seat before the season. The Falcons started well enough, at 2-1, but they haven’t won since. The fifth straight loss came on Sunday, when there were numerous coaching errors (and, fairly, many playing errors too) to let the Lions come back to win. The Falcons somehow managed to get a holding penalty on second down and an incomplete pass on third down late in the game, both stopping the clock and allowing the Lions an extra minute to drive into position for a game-winning field goal on the last play. That’s pretty inexcusable.

No matter the specifics, Blank is right. There’s no way the Falcons should have lost that game. Atlanta has a bye in Week 9. The owner is angry. It will be an anxious week for Smith and many others at the Falcons facility.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab