Why Falcons vs. Dolphins matters
Friday night served two important purposes. It was the latest segment of the starters’ on-ramp to the regular season, and it provided the final evaluation point for the team’s decision-makers ahead of Sunday night’s roster cutdowns.
Offensively, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Jahan Dotson were the top pass catchers for the starting unit with Tagovailoa at quarterback. Pitts caught all three balls tossed his way for 59 yards, including an impressive 37-yard sprint up the right sideline, while Dotson caught three of his own for 27 yards.
Running back Brian Robinson Jr. scored the first-team offense’s lone touchdown, punching it in from 3 yards out.
Defensively, starters like A.J. Terrell, Xavier Watts and Brandon Dorlus each had their moments in the first quarter. Edge defender Cameron Thomas earned a sack, and defensive tackle Maason Smith recorded a stop in the backfield. Linebacker Divine Deablo wore the green dot for the first time in a game, which is also a key step ahead of his first season as the main communicator for the defense.
For the reserves, this game was the final chance to claim a roster spot. Led by Cooper Rush, the No. 2 offense put together a good drive on their second possession of the second quarter. Rush was 8-of-9 passing for 52 yards on the series with a 3-yard touchdown catch to tight end Jack Velling. Wide receiver Chris Blair proved to be his go-to guy with a crucial 5-yard catch on fourth-and-3 and an 11-yard fingertips catch two plays later. Blair is among the receivers fighting for a spot, and those two plays should help his case.
Key takeaway from Falcons vs. Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa’s first-quarter performance is one that continued to fuel the fire of the Falcons’ ongoing quarterback competition.
Stefanski said Wednesday that Michael Penix Jr. would not play in Friday night’s game. Penix, for his part, agreed that playing in the game would feel “too soon,” seeing as he just has three practices with full-team work under his belt.
That said, it meant quite a bit of run was expected for Tagovailoa as the starter in the team’s final preseason game. Before the game even began, Tagovailoa was the first Falcon out of the locker room, warming up on the field at Hard Rock Stadium, his former home base to this point in his career.
When he finally did take the field to start the game, he was met with a splattering of “boos” by the Miami faithful. What followed thereafter was a surgical drive that ended with a short touchdown run by Brian Robinson Jr. The drive was highlighted by Pitts’ 37-yard catch-and-run on a screen that Drake London’s block on the outside sprung.
To start the next series, Tagovailoa fumbled the snap to start the drive. Miami recovered. The veteran quarterback came back out for a final drive that also ended in a fumble, this time by Robinson.
The fumbles aside, Tagovailoa’s performance was efficient in nature. To the tune of being 7-of-8 through the air for 95 yards, which included a lot of shorter, quick passes over the middle to players like Pitts and Jahan Dotson. Tagovailoa didn’t attempt to push the ball downfield in his dropbacks Friday night, going for a more clinical approach to moving the ball by getting the ball quickly into the hands of his offensive playmakers. That said, there is something to that strategy.
Overall, Tagovailoa’s night wasn’t one of intense flashiness, but it worked towards what the Falcons needed in each moment (fumble, again, aside but noted). It’s a performance that was everything NFL pundits have come to know Tagovailoa to be. The question remains, though: Was it enough to be named the Falcons’ starter in Week 1? That answer has not yet taken the form of an answer.