Falcons report card: Team failed to show up for kickoff
It was a horrible display of football put on the Falcons on Sunday.
The Falcons made the Dolphins look like serious Super Bowl contenders as the visitors rolled to a 34-10 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Quite honestly, it was a tough day all around,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “They went out and smashed us. They had a beat on what we were doing defensively. They had a beat on what we were doing on special teams. They did a nice job today.”
With backup quarterback Kirk Cousins at the controls, the Falcons offense never got moving and the defense got ran over in the run game.
The Falcons must regroup before facing the Patriots — who are 6-2 under first-year coach Mike Vrabel — next week.
Here are the Falcons grades for the loss to the Dolphins:
Quarterback
Kirk Cousins, who started for the injured Michael Penix Jr., was ineffective. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 173 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 81.8. Cousins got 76 of the yards in the fourth quarter at garbage time. Penix suffered a bone bruise in his left knee did not play. With the running game shut down, Cousins tried to lean on tight end Kyle Pitts. He had a nice ball down the field to Darnell Mooney that drew a pass interference call. “It’s not a simple answer,” Cousins said when asked what is wrong with the offense. “We certainly have to get better than we were today.” Grade: F.
Running backs
For the second game in row, running back Bijan Robinson was held under 100 scrimmage yards. Robinson rushed nine times for 25 yards and had a costly fumble. He caught three passes for 23 yards. Tyler Allgeier scored on a 6-yard touchdown run. Overall, the Falcons rushed 17 times for 45 yards for a paltry 2.6 yards per carry. Grade: F
Wide receivers/Tight ends
With Drake London out with a hip injury, KhaDarel Hodge and David Sills V got more action. Kyle Pitts caught all nine of his targets for 54 yards. Cousins wasn’t in sync with the receivers. He had a couple of bad balls, too. Hodge caught 3 of 8 targets for 31 yards. Sills caught 2 of 3 targets for 14. Casey Washington had a catch for 25 yards and Darnell Mooney caught 1 of 4 targets for 11 yards. Grade: F
Offensive line
The line couldn’t open any holes in the run game. The line also gave up a sack and four quarterback hits. Left tackle Jake Matthews and center Ryan Neuzil were called for false start penalties. Neuzil also had a holding penalty called against him that was declined when the Dolphins recovered Robinson’s fumble. Grade: F
Defensive line
The Falcons had to play without defensive tackle Zach Harrison, who leads the team in sacks. Brandon Dorlus had two tackles for losses. The Dolphins had success running the ball against the front. Grade: F
Linebackers
JD Bertrand made his first NFL start and finished with nine tackles. Kaden Elliss led the unit with 12 tackles. The Falcons clearly missed inside linebacker Divine Deablo, who was placed on injured reserve with a fractured forearm. Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was called for a face mask penalty. The Dolphins wanted to run the ball at the Falcons and had success, rushing for 141 yards. Grade: F
Secondary
Cornerbacks Mike Hughes and A.J. Terrell had pass interference calls against them. Miami wide receiver Jaylen Waddle caught five passes for 99 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown reception. Safety Jessie Bates III suffered an ankle injury and did not return to the action. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa moved the ball around to nine different receivers. Nickel back Dee Alford had the lone sack for the Falcons. Grade: F
Special teams
Feleipe Franks had an unnecessary roughness penalty and a holding penalty that set two drives back. Also, Mike Ford Jr. had a holding call on a kickoff return. Kicker Parker Romo made a 45-yard field goal. Punter Bradley Pinion averaged 44 net yards on four punts. Grade: F
Coaching
For the second time this season, the Falcons were not ready to play. They let the Dolphins get off to a good start and the next thing you know, the Falcons are down 17-3 at halftime to a 1-6 team with its head coach on the hot seat. The Falcons clearly are not good enough to just show up and think they have a win. This one was worse that the 30-0 loss to a then-winless Panthers team on Sept. 21. Grade: F
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
