Falcons outburst over fake play might have brought back bad 28-3 memories

The Atlanta Falcons season ended with some postgame fireworks.

Following the Falcons' season-ending 48-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the opposing coaches did not partake in the customary postgame handshake. Instead, in his last game as head coach of the Falcons, Arthur Smith had a profanity-laced exchange with Saints head coach Dennis Allen at midfield.

After safety Tyrann Mathieu returned an interception down to the Falcons' 1-yard line, Allen intended to run out the final 1:13 left on the clock and seal the Saints victory. Instead, backup quarterback Jameis Winston handed the ball to Jamaal Williams from victory formation, and Williams plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. Many coaches would be angered by an opponent using a trick play to score a touchdown despite holding a 24-point lead with a minute left in the game.

One Saints fan recently shared a theory about why this particular loss added salt to an already deep wound.

"Are the Falcons extra salty because they've had their paints pulled down twice now?" the fan wrote in a Reddit post, suggesting that the fake kneel-down brought back traumatic memories from Atlanta's Super Bowl 51 loss.

Was Arthur Smith's outburst tied to the Falcons' Super Bowl loss against the Patriots?

While Arthur Smith's outburst has seemed like an overreaction to some, it's unlikely that it had anything to do with Super Bowl 51. Atlanta has been the butt of late-night jokes since their heartwrenching Super Bowl 51 loss, and it's easy for NFL fans to immediately think of 28-3 any time the Falcons come up in national discussion.

In reality, the fake kneel-down from their Super Bowl loss is a minor footnote that will be lost in the annals of football history.

The play in question occurred in the final seconds of regulation when the New England Patriots gained possession of the ball at their own 35-yard line. Conventional wisdom suggested they would take a knee and head into overtime, but head coach Bill Belichick had one last trick up his sleeve. The offense lined up in victory formation, but Tom Brady handed the ball to running back Dion Lewis, who ran down the sideline behind his offensive linemen. The play resulted in a 13-yard gain, but Lewis sustained a hamstring injury that knocked him out of the game. In the end, the play had no impact on the outcome of the game.

That was a different Atlanta Falcons team as well. At the time, Smith was a tight ends coach for the Tennessee Titans. It's more likely that Smith isn't even aware of that play.

His anger towards the Saints had more to do with the unwritten rules of sportsmanship amongst NFL coaches. When the outcome of a game is decided in such an overwhelming and lopsided fashion, the winning team is expected to take their foot off the gas.

And, perhaps, Smith knew that the embarrassing loss was the final nail in the coffin of his tenure in Atlanta.