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Falcons HC Arthur Smith confronts Dennis Allen after Saints run up score with late touchdown

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•01/07/24
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Dale Zanine | USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints blew out the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon 48-17. They also decided to tack on a late touchdown in the final minutes and apparently that made Falcons head coach Arthur Smith absolutely furious. He went ballistic on Saints head coach Dennis Allen in the postgame handshake.

After the game, Smith spoke with the media, “It got out of hand. You can do whatever you want. I just gave them my opinion about it.”

Saints head coach Dennis Allen also apologized in his press conference. “I’m gonna start by apologizing to Arthur Smith and the Falcons.” He said they should have taken a knee, but guys wanted to get Jamaal Williams a TD and that it was “unacceptable.” “That’s not who we are, not what we’re about,” Allen said.

Here is the late game touchdown that Smith was furious about in case you didn’t get to watch.

Following the game, Saints quarterback Jameis Winston explained that Dennis Allen told him to kneel the ball late in the game, but that he and his teammates wanted to get Jamaal Williams a touchdown.

“Well, I apologized to D.A., because the play was victory,” Winston said. “But I also explained to D.A. that it was a team decision and I think when you have a team around, and I asked the guys, I said guys what do you want to do? We know how much Jamaal means to this team and I understood from D.A.’s perspective. So, I give him that. But D.A. didn’t condone that at all, he didn’t.”

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Arthur Smith fired late on Sunday Night

The Atlanta Falcons have chosen to part ways with head coach Arthur Smith after three seasons. Following the team’s 48-17 loss on Sunday, the Falcons made the decision to move on. The Falcons finished the year with a 7-10 record for the third consecutive season.

Atlanta started Smith’s third season off with wins against the Panthers and Packers, but dropped the next two against the Lions and Jaguars. The team found little consistency and flip-flopped between quarterbacks Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. After losing three consecutive games against the Titans, Vikings and Cardinals in the middle of the season, they ended the year with three wins and four losses.

The Falcons drafted former Texas star Bijan Robinson in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He ran for 948 yards with just four rushing touchdowns this season. He also added 51 catches, 384 receiving yards and three more touchdowns. He scored one of his touchdowns in Week 18, posting a seven-catch game with 103 yards.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle and Kaiden Smith also contributed to this article.