Matt Ryan, Mike Smith Shoulder Blame as Falcons Waste Golden Opportunity

The merry-go-round known as the NFC South continues to spin. The Atlanta Falcons took their turn as the top team in the division this week before they spun out of control. 

The Atlanta Falcons lost 26-24 to the Cleveland Browns Sunday at the Georgia Dome, and the blame will be laid at the feet of two parties: head coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan. 

Usually the head coach and quarterback take too much of the blame, but it's warranted in this case. 

Who is to blame is actually dependent on which half is being discussed. 

Ryan's start to the game was putrid. It took a full quarter for Atlanta's signal-caller to find any rhythm, and he still finished 12-of-22 passing during the first half. 

It wasn't simply that Ryan threw multiple incomplete passes—including starting the game 4-of-11 passing with an interception at the beginning of the second quarter; the sixth-year signal-caller missed open throws. 

When Ryan is at his best and his offensive line gives him time to throw, he can shred a defense. 

The Browns were ripe for Ryan to have one of his best games of the season. A week prior, the Browns allowed Ryan Mallett, who was starting his first NFL game, to complete 20 of 30 passes while not applying any pressure on the young quarterback. 

Cleveland was also missing its best coverage linebacker after Karlos Dansby suffered a knee injury last week. The NFL's leader in interceptions, Tashaun Gipson, suffered an injury and didn't return to Sunday's contest. 

Yet Ryan never provided any consistency for the Falcons. 

Like a good professional, the quarterback took the blame for his team's play on offense, per the Falcons' website: 

"

I don’t think it was on anyone but myself, from a rhythm standpoint. I didn’t get into a good rhythm today. I think we had chances to make some plays. I think we did a good job on third downs; we were efficient there and made some good plays. We were good in the red zone but at different points of the game, we had some shots down the field. I didn’t throw well enough. When you’re playing against a good football team, which Cleveland is, you’ve got to hit them. We didn’t do that today.

"

As the second half commenced, the blame game quickly switched to Smith. The ending of the game might have even sealed Smith's fate after six seasons with the organization. 

Bleacher Report's Michael Schottey was quick to designate Smith as a dead man walking after the Falcons found a way to lose Sunday's contest because of a last-second field goal by Browns kicker Billy Cundiff. 

The problems stem from poor clock management. Or mismanagement in this particular case. 

The Falcons' final drive was horribly mismanaged. It began with an ill-timed timeout from Smith. 

With the Falcons trailing the Browns 23-21 and 55 seconds remaining, Atlanta's head coach decided to call a timeout after a seven-yard completion from Ryan to Harry Douglas. 

Field position and a running clock were crucial at this point, yet Smith felt the following play call was more important than draining the clock despite being in field-goal position. 

He attempted to rationalize his decision after the game, per FoxSports.com's Knox Bardeen: 

On 3rd-and-2 from the Browns 35-yard line, Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter decided the best play call was a pass. 

The first problem was the intended target was Devin Hester—not Julio Jones or even Roddy White. The Browns' initial first-round pick in this year's draft, Justin Gilbert, made a play on the ball and caused an incomplete pass. Thus, the clock stopped. 

If the Falcons decided to run the ball, they could have gained yardage for an easier field-goal attempt. Plus, the clock would have continued to run.

Instead, the Browns had 49 seconds to work with after Bryant converted a 53-yard field goal to give the Falcons a momentary 24-23 lead.

Cleveland then breezed down the field in those final seconds to set up the game-winning 37-yard field goal—all because Smith couldn't manage the end of the game properly. 

As soon as the Browns converted the winning kick, Smith was lambasted for the poor decision. 

ESPN's Bill Simmons summed it up perfectly: 

Former Browns president Joe Banner was slightly more subtle in his admonishment: 

Smith's issues were bad enough that The Boston Globe's Ben Volin may have already identified a potential replacement for him: 

Ryan and Smith will be the focal points in all Falcons discussion this week, but there is a major difference between the two. 

Ryan is still considered a franchise quarterback who can lead his team to success with the proper surrounding cast. Even the league's best quarterbacks have poor throwing days. And that's exactly what happened to Ryan on Sunday. How he responds next week against the Arizona Cardinals will be telling. 

Smith isn't guaranteed anything beyond this weekend, though. 

The Falcons might have been 4-6, but they found a way to only be the NFC South's top team for a short time. Atlanta was in position to win against the Browns and remain in the playoff mix, but Smith's poor decisions led to a painful loss.

With the Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers next on the docket, the Falcons now face a massive uphill climb in the division when they're hamstrung by such poor decision-making from their head coach. 

All the momentum was in Atlanta's favor after winning two straight games with the Browns coming to town. Instead, the Falcons fell flat on their faces, and change could be coming sooner rather than later. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.