ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Calls Falcons ‘The Dumbest Team’ After Their Loss Against Cowboys

Stephen A. Smith is very angry with the Atlanta Falcons. On Monday, the ESPN personality went on First Take and called the team out for their 40-39 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were down 20-0 in the first quarter but chipped away at the lead and were able to come away with the victory after hitting a go-ahead field goal with no time left. But what made Smith angry was the Falcons let the Cowboys recover an onside kick, which led to the game-winning field goal.

“I saw the Atlanta Falcons up 20-0. I saw them up 29-10. I saw a 15-point lead, 39-24, with under five minutes left,” Smith said. “I even saw them blowing that and still was in a position to win. All they had to do was fall on the floor. I’d like to sit up there and say something that I’ve never said about an NFL team before. I mean, the Atlanta Falcons might be the dumbest team that I’ve witnessed in the modern era.”

Smith calls out the Falcons after the team sent him a jersey to wear on Friday. Smith wore the jersey proudly since he’s a big Cowboys hater and was live tweeting when the game was going on. The last tweet on the game he posted was: “Uh, that would be yet another touchdown for the [Atlanta Falcons]…..[Matt] Ryan-to-[Calvin] Ridley. Just providing updates.”

Falcons fans might agree with Smith since they have seen before plenty of times over the years. The one that stands out is Super Bowl LI when the team was up 28-3 against the New England Patriots and ended up losing in overtime.

“Well, I think they definitely know,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said when talking about if his players knew if they could touch the ball before it goes 10 yards on an onside kick. “The front three are usually blocking as they’re going and the high bouncers go to the second side. So, the front line, generally on an onside kick, they’re looking to get a block first and the high hop goes to the next player. When that instance happens and it’s not one that’s a high hopper, then you just transfer in and you go to your ball, but you’re looking at your assignment first of who you have to go block – certainly the ball and then your assignment. They definitely know the rule.”