FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After blowing fourth-quarter leads on the road in two consecutive games, the long-term viability of the Mike Smith-Thomas Dimitroff regime is being publicly questioned.

The Atlanta Falcons are off to a shaky 2-3 start after going 4-12 last season.

The team clearly hasn’t fixed its problems on defense and is playing with a patchwork offensively line. After facing Chicago at home on Sunday, the Falcons don’t play another home game until they face the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 23.

For a team that is 0-3 on the road this season and was just 1-7 last season, a doomsday scenario is unfolding as the franchise is set to roll out the pricing plans for the premium seat licenses for the new stadium set to open in 2017.

Since becoming Atlanta’s head coach in 2008, Smith has established his team as one of the NFL’s most consistent performing franchises that seemingly always finds itself in the playoff discussion, with last season being the exception.

During Smith’s impressive run, the Falcons have compiled a 62-39 regular-season record, which is the seventh-best mark in the NFL during that time, and have captured two NFC South division titles.

Atlanta’s .614 winning percentage is the highest in team history over a six-plus-year period. Smith’s accomplishments in his first six seasons (2008-14) as Atlanta’s head coach are unprecedented in team history and are among the best in the NFL when measured against his coaching counterparts.

He reached the 50-win milestone in 71 games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he was the third-fastest head coach to accomplish the feat since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

But if the Falcons don’t go on a major role, Smith could be in danger of being terminated.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired Jim Mora not two years after the Falcons reached the NFC title game.

Smith guided the Falcons to the NFC championship game on Jan. 22, 2013. Not two full years later, that 17-point lead against San Francisco marks the high point of the Smith/Dimitroff regime.

Blank, in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was asked if there would there be ramifications, specifically firings, if this devolved into another failed season.

“I understand the question and my job during the season is not to speculate,” Blank said. “My job to be a support person, be as positive as I can be. We lost a game Sunday in New York and we have to move past that and move on to Chicago. If we use all of our energy hand-wringing, we’ll have less energy to approach this in a positive way.”

Blank was then asked if it was fair to say that jobs are on the line.

“I would say to you, and I mean it sincerely: I have confidence in the coaching staff and the GM and the players,” Blank said. “I’m not speculating during the season about what might happen after the season. That’s not compatible with doing what I should be expected to do.”

Blank, the self-made billionaire of the Home Depot empire, is in his 13 season as the Falcons owners.

In the past, he hasn’t been afraid of change.

He fired coach Dan Reeves in 2003, one year after the Falcons upset Green Bay in the playoffs on the road in historic Lambeau Field.

Blank hired Rich McKay as general manager in late 2003. But removed McKay from football operations five years later and place him charge of the new stadium project. Mora was only on the job for three seasons and Bobby Petrino didn’t stick around to get fired. He left 13 games into his only season.

SERIES HISTORY: Bears lead all-time series 13-12. In the last meeting, the Bears defeated the Falcons 30-12 to open the 2011 season. Running back Matt Forte amassed 158 total yards and scored a touchdown on a 56-yard screen pass. The Bears pummeled Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, sacking him five times and hitting him 11 more times.

–WR Harry Douglas (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. … WR Devin Hester (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. … LG Justin Blalock was limited in on Wednesday. He was out with a back injury.

GAME PLAN: The Falcon must figure out a way to get running back Antone Smith the ball more.

“Last year when Antone got on this streak, it was like every time he went in the game people were like ‘hey, 35 is in the game,'” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “Because we have been playing Antone more – I know people think he hasn’t been playing enough – but we’ve been playing him more and he doesn’t get the ball every time he’s in. He is running between the tackles. He is protecting. He is doing all the things Steven Jackson does, all the things Jacquizz (Rodgers) does. It’s not as easy to say, ‘Hey, 35 is getting the ball’ when he comes in. I don’t think people are just keying on him specifically.”

He continued his streak of scoring long touchdowns with a 74-yard touchdown reception against the Giants.

“The fact that Antone has been able to provide a big play, explosive play in almost every game, that’s a huge lift to our team,” Koetter said. “But we have confidence in all four of our halfbacks. Go back to New Orleans, all four had explosives in that game. Halfback has been consistent across the board and that includes Antone. We don’t think of it as, hey we are going to save Antone, we are going to slip him in here. We don’t look at it like that. He’s in the rotation and he’s made the most of his opportunities.”

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

–Bears DE Jared Allen, who’s back to full strength, vs. Falcons LT Jake Matthews, who has an ankle injury: Allen’s 113-game streak was snapped after bout with pneumonia. He returned to play 59 of 66 snaps (89 percent) against Carolina last week. He had seven tackles and a pass defense. Matthews had a lot of help from running back Steven Jackson with New York’s Jason Pierre-Paul last week.

–Bears TE Martellus Bennett, who benefitted from single coverage, vs. Falcons FS Dwight Lowery, who’s taking on more of a leadership role on the defense: Bennett has 32 catches, the second-most for a tight end this season. He trails Jimmy Graham, who has 34 receptions. Bennett has 312 yards and four touchdowns. The Falcons held New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell to no catches last week.

–Bears RB Matt Forte, who leads the team with 36 catches, vs. Falcons LB Paul Worrilow, who is playing better in space: In the last meeting, Forte torched the Falcons in a Bears 30-12 win to open the 2011 season. Forte rushed 16 times for 68 yards and caught five passes for 90 yards and touchdown. He had 21 touches for 158 yards, which included a 56-yard touchdown catch-and-run on a screen play. The Falcons have had a tough time with smallish/fast backs like Cincinnati’s Giovani Bernard and Minnesota’s Jerick McKinnon.