Arthur Smith, Falcons Haven't Had 'a State of the Union' amid Hot-Seat Buzz

Pressure may be mounting on Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith, but he says he has not been given any indication regarding his job status.

"Not like a state of the union," Smith told reporters after Sunday's 9-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. "Every day you go in there, try the best you can at your job. And that's all we work on. It's improving, trying to win games."

Atlanta opened Sunday's game in control of its playoff destiny despite a 6-7 record but sputtered with arguably its worst performance of the season. Smith's offense totaled just 204 yards, and the coach curiously abandoned star first-round pick Bijan Robinson in favor of Tyler Allgeier.

The usage—or lack thereof—of rising young players has led to Smith receiving the ire of both Falcons fans and fantasy football managers, who have expressed confusion over a seeming refusal to get the ball in his best playmakers' hands.

Atlanta is now one loss away from clinching its third straight losing season under Smith. Falcons owner Arthur Blank has been notoriously patient with coaches, but the franchise is now in danger of missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season—a feat that has never happened in Blank's ownership.

"In any job you take, you gotta have a lot of self-belief. You know, this is the cycle of it. There's consequences when you lose so these are natural questions, right," Smith said. "It's NFL 101. Your job is to win games. There's a lot of things that ... everybody's situation is different. There's a lot of things that we've dealt with early on but ultimately, you know, the job is to win games and get into the playoffs.

"We'll still have that opportunity. It'll look like a long shot but each one of these years has been different. We've got three different teams. Movement at some critical spots, but your job is to win. We've made a lot of good ... but I've got a ton of self-belief."

The Falcons, who have now lost two straight, host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday in what could be the final home game of the Smith era. They close the regular season with trips to Chicago and New Orleans.