Following an eye-popping turnaround in the second preseason game last week, the Falcons wrap up the exhibition season against the Dolphins.
It’s a reunion for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was a first-round pick by the Dolphins in 2020 and spent his first six seasons in Miami. Tagovailoa is in the Falcons’ quarterback competition for the starting role when the season begins Sept. 13.
Michael Penix Jr. won’t play Friday, according to coach Kevin Stefanski, though many starters will. The Falcons also will get a look at Jack Strand and Cooper Rush, who are competing for the No. 3 QB spot.
Here’s some pregame reading to get caught up:
Falcons quarterback Jack Strand threw his first interception of the preseason, as a short pass underneath bounced off running back Nathan Carter's hands, tipped into the air and into the waiting arms of Dolphins corner Miles Battle.
The Dolphins took over in the red zone, but thanks to two sacks from James Pearce Jr., the Falcons held Miami to a field goal.
Falcons 17, Dolphins 12 with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons' defense forced the Dolphins to punt from midfield, keeping Atlanta in front 17-9, midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Dolphins nearly hit an explosive play.
Former first-round pick Jalen Reagor beat undrafted rookie corner Malcolm Dewalt downfield, but Dolphins quarterback Mark Gronowski overthrew him by a step.
The Falcons avoided disaster, then stood tall to get the ball back.
Offensively, the Falcons have struggled under quarterback Jack Strand. They've run nine plays for 22 yards and haven't picked up a first down. Strand is 3-for-3 passing for 18 yards, but the Falcons haven't converted a pair of 3rd and 1 opportunities.
Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson knocked in a 26-yard field goal to trim Miami's deficit to 17-9.
The Dolphins nearly scored a touchdown on 3rd and goal, but receiver Theo Wease, who was quite open, couldn't haul in the reception. Miami kept its offense on the field but a pre-snap penalty forced coach Jeff Hafley to kick the field goal.
All told, an 11-play, 66-yard drive ended in a chip shot and pulled the Dolphins within one possession with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.
It's a small thing, but that was very good clock management and execution at the end of the first half, as the Falcons tacked on a field goal for a 17-6 lead.
Cooper Rush found Tyler Goodson for a 31-yard pass, and as the clock was winding down, Rush got to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball with three seconds left, allowing the field-goal team to get on and add on the three points.
Those seem to be minute details, but those are important when the regular season starts ... there are plenty of times that those three points would have been huge for the Falcons.
Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush led a successful two-minute drive, leading the offense to a field goal on a six-play, 49-yard drive that lasted only 41 seconds.
The drive's biggest play was a 31-yard pitch-and-catch between Rush and running back Tyler Goodson. Rush hit Goodson on a wheel route down the left sideline, and Goodson made a smooth spin move to get another chunk of yards after the catch.
The Falcons are in control through 30 minutes, owning a 13-3 edge in first downs and a 221-84 margin in total yards.
Aside from the two fumbles, this has gone according to the script for the Falcons. They have a couple of touchdown drives and the defense has been playing well.
One thing to remember — no matter how this turns out — is that the Falcons played their starters for the first couple of drives and the Dolphins began with their second unit.
But, the eye test has been good so far.
The Falcons extended their lead to 14-3 on a touchdown pass from Cooper Rush to undrafted rookie tight end Jack Velling.
The play capped a lengthy 12-play, 54-yard drive that lasted nearly seven minutes.
Through two drives, Rush is 9-for-10 passing for 57 yards.
Falcons rookie linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. had a strip-sack in pursuit of Dolphins quarterback Cam Miller. The ball rolled out of bounds, but Perkins' play remained an impressive moment.
Through five drives, Perkins has three tackles, best on the team.
The Falcons' offense, featuring a majority of starters, only scored on one of its three drives. The other two ended with fumbles, one on a bad exchange between backup center Corey Levin and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and the other from a big hit on Brian Robinson Jr. during an inside run.
Across 14 plays, the unit tallied 110 net yards and six first downs. Tagovailoa went 7-for-8 passing for 95 yards.
But ultimately, the starters only found the end zone once.
Tua Tagovailoa fumbled the opening snap, and the Falcons' drive stopped before it even got started. The snap was a little less than desirable, but that's going to be a side-eye for Tagovailoa, because of his history with mishandling the ball.
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