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How hot is Arthur Smith's seat: 1. Cold seat

Smith is in his first year as a head coach. The Falcons are still in the playoff race despite a roster hamstrung by salary-cap issues. The Falcons missed the playoffs the previous three seasons, and they went 4-12 in 2020. If there was a zero option, it would be here. There's no reason to think Arthur Smith won't return in 2022. -- Michael Rothstein

The Falcons have hung around in the NFC playoff picture thanks to an unusual level of parity across the league this season combined with a series of narrow wins against mostly mediocre competition. But Atlanta has been exposed whenever it faces a team that profiles as an actual Super Bowl contender. The 49ers are just such a team, and they delivered a 31-13 thumping of Atlanta in an expected outcome. The Falcons can keep themselves in the postseason conversation with a win over the Lions on Sunday -- but it's not crazy to say Detroit might be the superior team despite a worse record. The Falcons need serious work this offseason.

Their playoff hopes were all but dashed in losing to the 49ers. They have to get better in a lot of spots heading into next season.

Kyle Pitts update -- he needs to average 51 receiving yards, about 10 shy of his weekly production so far, over the final three weeks to become the first rookie tight end in the Super Bowl era to reach 1,000 yards.

Our gift to you: Significantly better offensive line play for the final three games. The Falcons' playoff chances are extremely slim, but it would be nice to see some sort of progress out of this beleaguered group. How bad has it been? The Athletic's Josh Kendall got into all of the ugly stats about the Falcons' front, and the problems are far deeper than just pass pressures.