WHAT JUST HAPPENED

What a difference a week makes, who would have thought the Miami Dolphins would dominate the Atlanta Falcons the way they did. It would be great if the team we saw play on Sunday turned up every week, or more to the point, why haven’t they shown up a lot earlier in the season, as they wouldn’t be in such a mess now. The season is virtually on the verge of being lost, realistically they have to win every game from here on out to go 11-6, if they finish with 7 losses they could possibly sneak in the back door of the play-offs, but it isn’t guaranteed.

Based on recent performances most people had the Falcons down to win the game. Why wouldn’t they as they have one of the best pass defenses and a running back that dominated the Bills a few weeks earlier, how does that even compute. On paper it looked like a matchup nightmare for Miami, especially as experienced pass catchers were thin on the ground.

It didn’t start particularly well as Tua was sacked on the first third down he faced, it resulted in a punt, but the defense responded and forced a three and out. We then saw something new on the next drive as offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill reported as eligible a number of times during the series. Effectively Miami was running with six linemen at certain points in the drive, and it seemed to be helping. That wasn’t the only difference as Jaylen Wright, Ollie Gordan and De’Von Achane were splitting carries for the first time this season.

It was obviously clicking as they drove down the field, capping it off with a short three-yard pass to Achane who was wide open for an easy score. The first quarter was over in a blink and Miami were up 7-0. Nothing to get excited about though as there were three more quarters to play and we all know how things have gone so far. It didn’t take that long for the Falcons to open their account with three points but the Dolphins converted one a couple of possessions later which kept the margin at seven.

By now the game was well into the second quarter and nobody had seen Bijan Robinson, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t on the field, it was more a case that the Dolphin’s run defense was keeping him quiet. There were signs that they had possibly turned a corner against the Browns, granted Judkins had over 80 yards, but two good runs skewed what was a good game for the D line, it looked as though this was going the same way.

Another three and out by the Falcons gave the ball back to Miami with just over four minutes left on the clock. They took full advantage and just before the half padded their lead when Tua hit Malik Washington from nine yards out. The third quarter was a fairly dull affair until Jaylen Waddle snagged a Tua pass and sprinted forty-three yards for a game changing score as Atlanta were now staring at a twenty-one-point deficit.

From there on out Kirk Cousins had to shake off the rust and try and mount an arial comeback, and from the display he had put up until that point there was much to worry about, clearly the extended lay-off hadn’t done him any favours. On their next possession they handed the ball back on downs and Tua would go on to throw his fourth TD of the game, hitting Gordon on a screen that he turned into a twenty-yard scamper. The game was now out of reach, but the Falcons kept going and were rewarded with a late touchdown, the tried to convert another fourth down but failed and the final points would go to Miami courtesy of a short field, and that was that. Miami dominated on both sides of the field, and it was the Falcons that didn’t have answer.

Whatever was said or worked on in the week obviously had an effect as the offense came out looking a lot more in sync, even with Darren Waller and Julian Hill out. Moving forward are we going to see more of the six lineman set, it seemed to work fairly well so why wouldn’t it continue. There were less bubble screens which was refreshing, they will always be there, but they schematically different, and were more effective.

Having a three headed running back attack worked well, it won’t go down well in fantasy land but at least it won’t be a thing of nightmares in the real world. McDaniel had to come up with something to inject life into the offense, adding a sixth lineman and Wright to the mix seemed to have done the job.

We can’t finish without mentioning the defense, it stepped up and played a big part in the win. Robinson finished the game with twenty-five yards on the ground and twenty-three yards through the air. Not a great outing for one of the best backs in the game, it is a game he would rather forget. Atlanta finished with 213 nett yards which is far removed from their season average. The D-line that was looking like a lost cause has now turned in back-to-back respectable games, they are no longer a push over and could end up being the strength of the defense after all is said and done. Thursday night will be another big test.