Six Important Questions for Falcons and Dolphins for Week 8

ATLANTA, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons are set to take on a struggling 1-6 Miami Dolphins on Sunday, but several key matchups could swing this matchup.

The Falcons will be eager to put last week behind them and get back on the right side of .500 this season. How could they get that done? Take a look below to see what the biggest questions are ahead of this Week 8 matchup between the Falcons and Dolphins.

HOW WILL JEFF ULBRICH STRESS TUA TAGOVAILOA?

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Dolphins’ offense has stumbled in recent weeks as they continue to struggle with turnover issues. Tua Tagovailoa is tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions this season, but six of those have come in his last two outings.

Meanwhile, Atlanta will enter this game with the league’s top passing defense and a vastly improved pass rush. Through six games, 12 different Falcons have added their name to the defenders with a sack this season.

“I appreciate how we're doing it together as a unit, and I appreciate how those guys are getting it done,” head coach Raheem Morris said. “We talked about it a long time about looking for sacks and how to get those things, and it's not necessarily going to be one person. I think it's a group effort, and how those guys are rushing at one with vision and violence, and it looked well when we had those pass rush opportunities.”

Led by defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, the Falcons are blitzing on 44.1% of their opportunities (highest in the league), and they are generating pressure on 37.6% of dropbacks.

Teams have not been blitzing Miami a lot this season, and the only time teams sent blitzes on more than 30% of snaps was when the Dolphins picked up their only win of the season (Jets, 40%). Ulbrich may still opt to dial up some pressure to see how Tagovailoa deals with it, given his recent propensity for giving the ball away.

WHO STEPS UP ALONGSIDE KADEN ELLISS?

Atlanta Falcons linebacker JD Bertrand | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Falcons lost to the 49ers on the scoreboard, but perhaps a more significant loss came on the field. Linebacker Divine Deablo fractured his forearm in Week 7, and it expected to miss several weeks as a result.

The first-year Falcon has been a major reason for the defense’s rise to the top of the NFL in the first half of the season. He brings elite athleticism, versatility, and intelligence to the second level, and that has opened up several options for the other players on this unit. Deablo will be difficult for them to replicate.

“It’s going to be a kind of replace-him-by-committee a little bit,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said this week. “He's very unique in the fact that he is, from an athletic profile standpoint, he's very DB-ish. From a size standpoint, he's very linebacker-ish. So, we're going to replace him with that, with some DBs at times, and we'll replace him with some linebacker at times.”

JD Bertand stepped into his role last Sunday and responded with a career-high 10 tackles. He played about as well as one could expect against a player like Christian McCaffrey, but he struggled with his contain at times.

“We're fortunate that we have a JD Bertrand here who is insanely intelligent, understands our scheme at the highest level, so he's going to get a great opportunity to play some more,” Ulbrich continued. “There's some other guys, too, that are going to step in and do something with what Divine does.”

The second-year linebacker will likely get the first look again in Week 8, but Josh Woods, DeAngelo Malone, or even safety DeMarcco Hellams could get reps in his place.

WILL THE FALCONS CONTAIN DE’VON ACHANE?

Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

De’Von Achane will present similar issues to what Atlanta faced against Christian McCaffrey last week. Achane is one of three players in the NFL with 400+ rush yards and 200+ receiving yards so far this season, the others are McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson.

With Divine Deablo on the shelf for (at least) this week, the Falcons will look to contain the Dolphins’ speedy running back by committee. Atlanta struggled to keep McCaffrey contained in Week 8. He ran for a season-high 129 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and two touchdowns, while adding seven catches for 72 yards through the air.

With Achane presenting a similar conundrum, the Falcons need to have a better course of action for this week. If they can keep a lid on him, they should be able to hold the Dolphins’ offense down. If they don’t, it could prove to be a long afternoon for them.

CAN THE FALCONS CONVERT THEIR YARDAGE INTO POINTS?

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Zac Robinson’s offense has been tremendous this season at picking up yards. Through their first six games, they are top-10 in league-wide in passing yards (tenth, 228.0 yards per game) and rushing yards (fourth, 136.3 yards per game), but they are scoring just 18.3 points per game (28th).

The home-road splits have been particularly glaring in this regard: the Falcons are scoring 26 points per game at home compared to just 10.6 on the road. The passing attack dramatically crashes on the road, with Michael Penix Jr. averaging 287 yards per contest at home compared to just 192 on the road.

Fortunately for the Falcons, this week will come within the confines of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Dolphins will come in with one of the league’s worst units. They are allowing 159.3 yards rushing per game (worst in the NFL) and nearly 30 points per game.

Atlanta will look to continue their strong performances between the twenties, but this weekend could help boost its scoring marks.

WHAT IS THE DOLPHINS’ PLAN FOR SLOWING DOWN BIJAN ROBINSON?

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Before last week, Bijan Robinson had accounted for 100+ scrimmage yards in all five games to start the season. While he came up just short of that mark in Week 7 (92 scrimmage yards), he is still an incredible 152.33 yards per game.

The elite running back should get back on track this week against the Dolphins.

No team in the NFL gives up more explosive plays (34) or yards on the ground (159.3 yards per game) than the Dolphins. Robinson is one of the league’s best at making players miss in the open field, and he will present the Miami defense with a lot of issues.

“Pack mentality,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said about how they plan on slowing him down. “You have to be sound, but you have to be urgent. You have to have multiple players in the vicinity make him stop his feet and and have a group of people putting their pads on him at once. If you are in space and he's coming up on you, you have to shoot your guns and wrap. You can't just try to knock them down with a shoulder pad. You'd better wrap up.”

WHO STEPS UP IN SUPPORT OF DRAKE LONDON AND DARNELL MOONEY?

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Falcons parted ways with No. 3 wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III earlier this week, and they will be looking to see who steps up in his place. The wideout had been a healthy scratch in each of the last two games, but the Falcons do not yet have a clear solution in the receiver room. David Sills V and Casey Washington are the next two options on the roster, but they have not found a consistent role in the receiving game as of yet.

In the interim, it has been Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts Sr. who have stepped up.

Against the Bills, Drake London was the only receiver to catch a pass. Robinson and Pitts were the second-highest receivers in that game. They combined to finish with nine receptions for 86 yards.

Darnell Mooney returned last week against the 49ers and led the team in receiving (three receptions for 68 yards), while London attracted the majority of attention from the defense. Again, Pitts and Robinson were standout performers. They combined to finish with 13 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.