Take 5: Five quick takeaways from the Falcons’ matchup vs. Dolphins
The Falcons had another bad loss, this time to the lowly Miami Dolphins — who entered the game at 1-6, with some really bad losses.
They dominated the Falcons, and cruised to a 34-10 victory on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
And it wasn’t really that close.
Trying to analyze this Falcons bunch is bringing more questions than answers.
Are the Falcons good, or nah?
Which was worse — the 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, or this one — and what does it mean that they were both at home?
Is Michael Penix Jr. that important to the offense, or is Kirk Cousins that bad?
There are plenty more questions, but this latest loss, which dropped the Falcons to 3-4, is concerning.
Here are five quick takeaways:
- QB or not QB: The QB question lingered all week, with Penix dealing with a knee injury and coach Raheem Morris waiting things out to see whether Penix might be able to play. Penix was inactive for Sunday’s game, which put Cousins in the starting spot. He was less than stellar, going 21-of-31 for 173 yards. Penix has had his share of up-and-down results, but in his first start of the season, Cousins didn’t stake any claim to the position or make anyone think there’s a quarterback controversy or that he has significant trade value with the way he played on Sunday.
- No Bijan: From the first drive, the Falcons found that getting Bijan Robinson the ball was going to be tough. His first carry was for 1 yard, and the second was for minus-1. He finished the first half with five rushes for 12 yards. Even his short-catch game was limited, with one reception for just two yards. For Robinson, who has gone over 200 yards from scrimmage in a game this season, it was a disappointing game, but with the Falcons unable to get a discernible passing game going, the Dolphins were able to focus squarely on Robinson. On the first drive of the second half, Robinson had a 6-yard run, but was stopped on the next play. He had a 17-yard screen, but a fumble on the next play short-circuited their hopes of scoring. He finished with nine carries for 25 yards and three catches for 23 yards.
- Low flow: With Robinson, the Falcons’ best offensive option, phased out of the game, the Dolphins were able to keep the rest of the offense in check, preventing big drives — aside from the one to start the third quarter, which ended in a fumble. The offense had no flow, and midway through the fourth quarter, the Falcons managed just six first downs and were 1-of-9 on third downs. That’s not enough to give the defense any kind of rest, and it showed in the Dolphins’ ability to move the ball more effectively in the second half.
- Special-teams penalties: In the larger discussion, it’s not a big deal, but when the game was still in question, the Falcons had three big penalties on special teams, which diffused their field position and made things that much harder. Even when they had good returns, they were called back and they started much farther back than they would have. It’s a small thing, but to contribute to a loss like this, a lot of bad things had to happen, and this was just another. One or two would be excusable, but three takes away from any momentum that they could have started with those drives.
- Early exit: By the middle of the fourth quarter, much of announced crowd of 70,000-plus had headed for the exits already. There was a noticeable throng of Dolphins fans present at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and through their cheers, some boos could be heard, given the Falcons’ struggles on both sides of the ball, in addition to some conservative play-calling that kept them from competing early on. One could suggest the Falcons have been playing to the level of their competition, with their best win coming against the Bills, but some head-shaking losses to the Panthers and Dolphins.
About the Author
Rod Beard is the Senior Sports Editor for pro sports at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joining the team after 20-plus years at The Detroit News, where he was a beat writer for the Pistons for seven years, after five years covering the Michigan men's basketball team.
