Our trek through the Sunday early games begins in the dirty south as the Atlanta Falcons (3-1) host the Miami Dolphins (2-2) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The game will be brought to you by the friendly folk at CBS on your local affiliate at 1 p.m. EST.
The Game: Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons (-12.5)
O/U: 46.0
The History
The Dolphins and Falcons have played only 12 times since 1970 with Miami holding an 8-4 advantage in the all time series.
In their last game on September 22, 2013, Ryan Tannehill out-dueled Matt Ryan in a 27-23 come from behind win at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.
MIAMI DOLPHINS (2-2)
I don’t understand this Dolphins team at all. If I pick them to win, they lose. If I pick them to lose, they win. As with all sports borne superstitions, I am now convinced I am in complete control of the Miami season from here on out, so all I can say is, Fins fans, get ready to go to the Super Bowl.
Here’s what we do know right now, Jay Cutler should have probably stayed retired. Against the Titans last week Cutler was 12 of 26 for 92 yards, a touchdown and a pick. I’m not a Colin Kaepernick fan and can give you a litany of reasons I don’t think he’s a starting quarterback, but one thing I would admit readily is this; He’d be a hell of a lot better than that. And he wouldn’t be costing the Dolphins $10 million.
But, hey, maybe it’s still too early to toss Cutler out the door just yet. You might think he could bounce back after the team’s bye week until you remember they don’t have a bye this year because they didn’t play in Week One because of Hurricane Irma. I don’t know if this can be fixed, but if it can, Adam Gase will probably deserve coach of the year honors.
One thing the Dolphins were able to do last week is pressure the hell out of Matt Cassel. The team recorded six sacks, with defensive end Andre Branch netting two. The defense got five stops in the backfield. They’ll need a repeat performance to stand a chance in this game.
Both Jay Ajayi and Jarvis Landry were held out of Wednesday’s practice nursing injuries, but I expect both guys to play.
ATLANTA FALCONS (3-1)
In his last two games before the Falcons had a bye, Matt Ryan threw five interceptions to three touchdowns. That’s pretty damn rough. Against the Buffalo Bills, his two picks doomed the team to its first loss of the season and even fantasy owners couldn’t enjoy it as Devonta Freeman was bottled up to just 58 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown.
If Ryan is going to bounce back he’ll have to do it with a banged up Julio Jones who is dealing with a hip injury. No. 2 wideout Mohamed Sanu hasn’t practiced Wednesday or Thursday and will likely miss Sunday’s game altogether. That means Ryan will have to lean more on Justin Hardy, Taylor Gabriel and tight end Austin Hooper.
As the offense has stumbled, the defense is much improved from the unit that took the field at the beginning of the season. Two weeks ago the Falcons sacked Tyrod Taylor three times, forced a turnover and got six stops in the backfield. That should get a boost with the return of Vic Beasley Jr. to the field. He’s been limited in practice this week, but I expect him to play. Atlanta definitely needs him.
This is a game where Freeman and Coleman will likely have to do their damage outside the tackles and with quick catches out of the backfield. The Dolphins are stout up front and inside running lanes will be hard to come by.
The Pick
This line has moved a full point in the Falcons’ favor, while the total has dropped half a point since the lines were released at the beginning of the week. Atlanta worries me with a bad loss at home to the Bills two weeks ago, but I think they can bounce back against Miami. Falcons 27, Dolphins 16
Last week
Straight up: 6-8
Against the spread: 6-8
Season
Straight up: 43-34
Against the spread: 38-39
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