Setting the Stage for the Dolphins-Falcons Week 7 Matchup

Breaking down all the details for the game at Hard Rock Stadium

The Miami Dolphins will look to end their five-game losing streak when they face the Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 7 Dolphins-Falcons matchup:

MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-5) vs. ATLANTA FALCONS (2-3)

DATE: Sunday, Oct. 24

TIME: 1 p.m. ET

SITE: Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla.

WEATHER FORECAST: Temperatures between 1 and 4 p.m. ET will range from 83 to 85, according to AccuWeather.com, with cloudy and mostly cloudy skies and a chance of precipitation between 43 and 47 percent. The wind is expected to be 10 mph with gusts up to 13-14 mph.

TV: FOX

STREAMING: fuboTV

TV distribution: The game will be shown in South Florida and almost all of Georgia, plus the northern part of Alabama.

Announcers: Chris Myers (play-by-play), Daryl Johnston (color analyst), Jen Hale (sidelines)

SI Sportsbook betting line: Falcons by 2.5 (over/under 47.5)

Final Injury Report:

Dolphins — CB Xavien Howard (shoulder/groin), CB Noah Igbinoghene (knee), S Byron Jones (Achilles/groin), C Greg Mancz (groin), WR DeVante Parker (shoulder/hamstring), OLB Jaelan Phillips (ankle) and WR Preston Williams (groin) are questionable.

Falcons — OLB Dante Fowler Jr. (knee) is out; CB Avery Williams (hamstring) is doubtful.

Regular season series history: The Dolphins lead 9-4

Last five meetings:

Oct. 15, 2017 at Atlanta; Dolphins 20, Falcons 17

Sept. 22, 2013 at Miami; Dolphins 27, Falcons 23

Sept. 13, 2009 at Atlanta; Falcons 19, Dolphins 7

Nov. 6, 2005 at Miami; Falcons 17, Dolphins 10

Dec. 30, 2001 at Miami; Dolphins 21, Falcons 14

Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 35 (1974 at Miami; Dolphins 42, Falcons 7)

Falcons' largest margin of victory: 22 (1998 at Atlanta; Falcons 38, Dolphins 16)

Highest-scoring matchup: 55 points (1983 at Miami; Dolphins 31, Falcons 24)

Lowest-scoring matchup: 26 points (2009 at Atlanta; Falcons 19, Dolphins 7)

Former Falcons players with the Dolphins:

LB Duke Riley (2017-19)

Former Falcons coaches with the Dolphins:

Strength and conditioning coach Dave Puloka

Former Dolphins players with the Falcons:

QB Josh Rosen (2019)

Former Dolphins coaches with the Falcons:

LB coach Frank Bush, senior assistant Steve Hoffman, TE coach Justin Peelle, passing game specialist T.J. Yates (played for the Dolphins in 2016)

Other connections

Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer and Falcons DC Dean Pees coached together at Kent State in 2002-03. ... Dolphins OLB Jaelan Phillips played with Falcons QB Josh Rosen at UCLA in 2017 ... Dolphins RBs Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed played with Falcons starting T Kaleb McGary at the University of Washington from 2015-18 ... Dolphins RB Malcolm Brown played with Falcons OLB Dante Fowler Jr. with the L.A. Rams in 2018-19.

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FALCONS SCOUTING REPORT

Atlanta found itself with a dilemma in the offseason with new head coach Arthur Smith with whether to start over at quarterback or try to ride Matt Ryan a bit longer to try to get back to the playoffs. Ultimately, the decision was made to go with Ryan, which led the Falcons to select tight end Kyle Pitts with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft. Atlanta has gotten off to a 2-3 start, with things starting as poorly as they could with a 26-point home loss against Philadelphia. The Falcons have won two of their past three games, but it's tough to say how much that means considering they beat the Giants and Jets, who have combined for two wins all season. Atlanta still has firepower in the passing game, not only with Ryan and Pitts but also with star wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and returner-turned-running back Cordarrelle Patterson is a big-play threat on offense.

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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN ...

The Falcons, two wins or not, are just not a very good team. The offense has had problems running the ball and the defense is rather nondescript. Atlanta's defense has nine sacks and one interception in five games. This is a team the Dolphins clearly should beat unless they let Matt Ryan have a big game passing the ball.

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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE ...

Well, quite simply, the Dolphins just aren't very good right now. They haven't been very good on offense — despite doing some good things, they scored only 20 points against the lowly Jaguars defense last week — and they're not very good on defense. It's very easy, in fact, to see Ryan indeed have a big passing game Sunday and it's unfortunately also easy to see the Dolphins not being able to take advantage of a porous Atlanta defense. Lastly, maybe the fatigue factor will come into play with the Dolphins playing a week after traveling to London for their Week 6 game.

FINAL DOLPHINS-FALCONS PREDICTION

It's a very weird time for the Dolphins, who are trying to salvage their season and put themselves in position to make a playoff push all while Deshaun Watson rumors and talk of Brian Flores' job security keep swirling around the team. It's truly not an atmosphere conducive to great success, no matter how much Dolphins players and coaches emphasize how they're blocking out distractions. The bottom line, though, is that the Dolphins have gotten worse almost week by week and until we see signs of life from this team, it's just impossible to pick the Dolphins to win. Put simply, Atlanta is not a good team and the Dolphins should be able to beat them. But right now the Dolphins don't look like a team that can beat many opponents. Falcons 27, Dolphins 23.