To lose when you have hope—when you have expectations that seem utterly reasonable in late August—is far worse than losing when there was nothing at stake to begin with. We know this because the Falcons falling short repeatedly in the playoffs under Mike Smith and Dan Quinn seems far worse than the Falcons just losing a whole bunch of games every years in, say, the mid 90s. That hope was here for this year because this team looked so good on paper, just a year after making the playoffs despite a host of issues that included Steve Sarkisian calling his way out of a dark cave.
Falcons vs. Steelers recap: Atlanta’s flame sputters, fizzles, and goes out
