What We Learned in Atlanta Falcons Embarrassing Loss to Miami Dolphins

The up and down Atlanta Falcons may have hit rock bottom on Sunday with an embarrassing defeat to the previously 1-6 Miami Dolphins. Just when you think it can't get worse than the 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons say, "hold my beer."

The Falcons failed every aspect of the game, offense, defense, special teams, penalties, coaching… name it in a 34-10 loss to the Dolphins.

Here’s what we learned (or confirmed) in Atlanta’s embarrassing loss to the Dolphins.

A New Low for Raheem Morris

The Falcons are up and down like the Scream Machine at Six Flags. Dominate Minnesota and win convincingly against Washington and Buffalo, yet get your doors blown off by the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins.

Injuries aren’t an excuse. The 49ers were a M*A*S*H unit when they hosted the Falcons and still bullied the birds in the trenches.

Typically, a new coach will get three years before a decision is made on his future, but Morris took over a team that was “a quarterback away” and “playoff ready,” and they’ve reached a new low, even if their record isn’t awful at 3-4.

Coming into the game, the Dolphins looked like the team that had already packed it in for the season. The roles were completely reversed on Sunday.

Owner Arthur Blank won’t fire Morris mid-season, so this regime will have a chance to turn it around, but have they shown anything that leads us to believe they can put a consistent run of good football together and finish with a winning record?

General manager Terry Fontenot is in his fifth season and has yet to finish one with a winning record. If he had told Blank in his interview about his six-year plan to have a winning record, would he have been hired?

Blame Blank, blame the bogey-man Rich McKay if you’d like, but there’s a house cleaning coming at the end of this season if there’s not a miracle turnaround starting next week in New England.

The League’s Best Backup?

It was unfair to expect Kirk Cousins to come in and light up a bad Dolphins defense right away after not playing in nearly a year. Head coach Raheem Morris disdains the preseason, so sitting his starting quarterback fit the pattern. Not getting the backup live reps in the preseason is head-scratching.

The Cousins-led offense had 59 yards and three points in the first half. It didn't get better in the second half.

Cousins went to Blank in the offseason and asked to be moved. He publicly contradicted Falcons’ brass about his injury during last season's Week 10 loss to the Saints.

Want-away players don’t typically make the best backups. Especially one with a rapidly approaching expiration date. Cousins won’t be with the Falcons next season, and he’ll have to seriously consider retirement, because no one’s going to seriously consider him as even a bridge starter the way he’s played.

Third Down Woes

Not being able to run the ball leads to third and long. Not being able to throw the ball leads to a lot of three-and-outs. The Falcons were 0/7 on third down before finally converting a third and one in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins followed the script that has been successful against the Falcons to start the game: stop Bijan, stop the Falcons. They sold out on the Falcons’ first two plays, which were handoffs to Robinson for just one yard. Pressure on Cousins on third and nine led to a punt after three plays.

Play action to open the Falcons’ second drive was a good call, knowing the Dolphins were crowding Robinson. Pitts had a 24-yard catch on first down, but with Cousins struggling to find receivers, the Dolphins could afford to focus strictly on Robinson and Allgeier.

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been linked with the head coaching job at his alma mater, Oklahoma State. Falcons fans would chip in for his buyout and help him pack right now.

The Run Defense Is a Problem

I wouldn’t say we learned this, because we already knew, but we got more confirmation that JD Bertrand just can’t be an every-down linebacker for this team. He’ll pile up tackle numbers as his position warrants, but he was targeted early by the Dolphins in both the run and the pass.

The Falcons weren’t selling out to stop the run, gambling that the Dolphins couldn’t methodically move the ball down the field without a negative play. They may have been right on the Dolphins’ second drive, but Miami still ripped off an 11-yard run on 1st and 15, after a missed tackle in the middle of the field.

Billy Bowman Jr. hasn’t played since Week 4, and his absence is most felt in the run game. Dee Alford has done a decent job in coverage, but he isn’t the physical presence against the run that Bowman is.

Zach Harrison and Lacale London were missed in the defensive line rotation.

About that No. 1 Pass Defense

Atlanta has been good against the pass all season, but those numbers are going to start looking fraudulent if they can’t stop the run. The Dolphins ran the ball 10 times in their 13-play touchdown drive to make it 7-0 in the first quarter. The Falcons won’t give up many passing yards if teams don’t have to pass to beat them.

As In: They’re not that great against the pass, it’s just no one has to pass against them. It may be true, it might not be true, either way, the Falcons need to get to passing downs more often.

The Dolphins took a 17-3 lead into halftime with just 103 passing yards. Tagovailoa threw four touchdowns and built a 31-3 lead with 179 passing yards.

A New Problem

Coming into the game, the Falcons were the least penalized team in the NFL. They played one fewer game than a lot of teams, but not all. They were averaging just 38.3 penalty yards against, but gave up 45 yards in the first half, including a pass interference and facemask on Dolphins’ drives that led to 14 points.

The Falcons finished with eight penalties for 76 costly yards.

The Verdict

The Falcons saved their season after laying an egg against the Panthers in Week 3. Losing to the 49ers on the road is no great sin. Looking completely outclassed at home by the 1-6 Miami Dolphins is another matter altogether.

Any momentum they gained with wins over the Commanders and Bills is gone. Morris is going to need a miracle to salvage the 2025 campaign and his job.