Atlanta Falcons lose to the Miami Dolphins 13-9
The Atlanta Falcons hoped that the contract extension of Julio Jones would help spark the team to victory against the Miami Dolphins, but that was not the case as the Falcons dropped preseason game three, 13-9 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The Falcons failed to find the end zone in Miami and were held to three field goals, but a controversial fumble with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter sealed the deal. Jerome Smith was credited with the fumble deep inside Dolphins’ territory, but appeared to be the wrong call.
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Matt Ryan and the starting offense struggled to get anything going in the first half. Ryan was sacked three times and was pressured on several other attempts Ryan completed just three of his seven passes for 49 yards.
Tevin Coleman made his much-anticipated NFL debut but was unable to gain positive yards due to the lack of blocking from the offensive line. Coleman rushed the ball four times for two yards before calling it a night.
Leonard Hankerson added three more catches to his resume for 50 yards while Nick Williams added four catches for 43 yards as well.
The Falcons’ offensive line allowed six sacks on the night. The unit as a whole really struggled and was easily the worst part of Atlanta’s game tonight. The Falcons’ weakness just might have been exposed.
The Falcons’ defense on the other hand did a solid job of containing Ryan Tannehill, but allowed a receiving touchdown in the second quarter, their first touchdown allowed of the preseason. The standouts on defense for the Falcons were Paul Worrilow, Adrian Clayborn, O’brein Schofield and Justin Durant.
Worrilow led the team in tackles with nine including two tackles for a loss. Adrian Clayborn recorded a sack and recovered a fumble after an O’brein Schofield sack and Justin Durant added four tackles on the night including a big stop to start the game.
The Falcons let backup quarterback T.J. Yates play the entire second half in what many believe to be a tryout. Yates showed on a couple of plays that he has what it takes to win the job, but failed to produce as a whole. Yates completed 18 of his 28 passes for 187 yards and was sacked three times.
Newly acquired quarterback Rex Grossman will get playing time in the Falcons’ final preseason game, while Yates may or may not be a member of the team as cuts loom on September first.
The Falcons will have to trip their roster from 90 players to 75 in the coming days and will trim it down to the final 53 on September 5th.
The Falcons didn’t accomplish what they set out to do, and will need to evaluate the offensive line in the coming days before their final preseason game this Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.