The Atlanta Falcons, host the Miami Dolphins who look like a team that is ready to clean out their lockers and head to South Beach for the offseason.

The Dolphins are 1-6, and their only win came against the winless New York Jets. Still, they’ve played some good teams close, losing to the Patriots (5-2), Panthers (4-3), and Chargers (5-3) by just one score before getting blown out by the Browns last week.

Still, they’ve struggled on both sides of the ball and enter the game against the Falcons as 6.5-point underdogs. The Falcons have been good at home and match up well against the Dolphins.

“This is a dream matchup on paper for one side and a nightmare for the other.” ESPN Dolphins beat writer Marcel Louis-Jacques wrote on ESPN. “Falcons RB Bijan Robinson leads the NFL in total yards per game (152.3) and is two weeks removed from an explosive 238-yard performance.

“Meanwhile, the Dolphins have allowed five of the seven starting RBs they’ve faced this season to eclipse 100 total yards, with Jonathan Taylor (98) and Quinshon Judkins (84) falling just short. Robinson could be in line for a huge day if Miami can’t right the ship.”

This looks like one of the easiest games to predict on paper for ESPN’s weekly panel of writers that includes reporter Pamela Maldonado, fantasy analyst Eric Moody, and analytics writer Seth Walder.

The trio is 5-13 picking Falcons games this season, and they won’t get a perfect score this week either, because there’s a split decision in their prediction.

Maldonado’s pick: Falcons 28, Dolphins 23

Moody’s pick: Falcons 27, Dolphins 20

Walder’s pick: Dolphins 20, Falcons 17

FPI prediction: ATL, 62.1% (by an average of 5 points)

Through seven games, well-documented Falcons’ hater Walder has now predicted Atlanta to be 1-6. His only win prediction came in Week 3 in a loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“I’m sorry, what? Atlanta dealt a future first-rounder to move up from No. 46 to No. 26? ForJames Pearce Jr.? There’s no way to spin it: This is a poor team-building choice, plain and simple,” Walder wrote of the Falcons’ draft day move.

The Falcons seem pretty happy with Pearce and the forgotten man in that deal: Xavier Watts.

One might make the argument that with Drake London questionable and Kirk Cousins making his first start of the season, this game might be closer than expected, especially for the schizophrenic Falcons.

That argument might hold water if these predictions weren’t done on Friday before the London and Penix news broke on Saturday.

It was a little surprising that Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was still in charge of the team this week. If the Dolphins are embarrassed again, McDaniel might be left behind in Atlanta, where he was on Dan Quinn’s staff in 2015 and 2016.

This is a game the Falcons absolutely need to have if they’re going to be a playoff contender. Even with the injuries on offense, Atlanta takes care of business, leaning on their running game and defense.

Atlanta 27
Miami 16