Struggling Falcons drop home game to Dolphins, fall to 3-2 on the season
Talk of a Super Bowl hangover for the Atlanta Falcons consumed the team during the offseason and only increased after a winless preseason. After a 3-0 start though, it seemed that Matt Ryan and company had put their Super Bowl heartbreak behind them.
Not so fast.
After suffering consecutive home losses to Buffalo and now Miami in Week 6, the Falcons find themselves at 3-2 in the gritty NFC South. Moreover, their 20-17 loss Sunday to the Dolphins was a pretty good indicator of how the defending NFC champions have played in 2017. Remember, Atlanta barely beat the lowly Bears to start the season, almost choked away a home win over the Packers and needed a miracle call to beat the Lions.
This all prompts the question: What is wrong with the Falcons?
The biggest surprise is the lackluster play of Ryan, the reigning league MVP. The 32-year-old quarterback has become a turnover machine, tossing six interceptions over the past three games, including one Sunday with 47 seconds left in the game just outside the red zone. Remember, last season, Ryan threw just seven picks all year. He is completing 65.2 percent of his passes, down from a career-high 69.2 percent.
We would be remiss too, if we did not question a Falcons defense that blew a 17-0 halftime lead. Remember, the Dolphins have had one of the NFL’s most inept offenses, becoming the first team in four years to score as few as three offensive touchdowns in their first four games.
These Dolphins numbers from @NFLResearch are just ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/DWc8Z5EIiF
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 15, 2017
And yet in the second half of Sunday’s win over the Falcons, Jay Cutler looked reborn, making confident strikes down the field and hooking up with Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills for touchdowns.
To be sure, there is plenty of time for Atlanta to rectify its issues, but Sunday’s defeat should be a wake-up call at the very least.
“You can’t replay the game that was in the Super Bowl,” Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said. “But what you can do is control what we have now.”
What the Falcons have next is a Week 7 Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots in Foxbourough.
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Follow Jordan Schultz on Twitter @Schultz_Report
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