Dolphins End Losing Streak With Dominant Win vs. Falcons

The Miami Dolphins finally got back into the win column with an impressive, 34-10, win on the road against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday. Miami is now 2-6 after by far its best showing of the 2025 season. 

This game featured an impressive defensive performance against a banged-up Falcons’ offense and a shocking offensive adjustment. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Drive-by-Drive Recap

The teams traded punts on their first possessions, but the Dolphins’ second drive set the tone for the first half. Miami drove 79 yards on 13 plays and capped it off with a walk-in touchdown to De’Von Achane to make it 7-0. 

The Dolphins ran the ball 10 times on that drive and featured all three running backs, along with a sixth offensive lineman in Daniel Brunskill. 

Atlanta got a few big pass plays to get them into field goal range on the ensuing drive. Kirk Cousins had Kyle Pitts for a few completions, but Zach Sieler stuffed the Falcons on third and short. Atlanta hit its field-goal attempt to make 7-3. 

The teams would trade punts on the next two possessions, but Jake Bailey had an excellent punt that, along with a Falcons’ penalty, pinned them deep in their own zone. 

Miami’s defense forced another punt, and the offense got enough yards — courtesy of a Tua Tagovailoa completion for Jaylen Waddle — to kick a field goal to make the score 10-3. 

The Dolphins’ defense continued its strong play by forcing another punt, and the Dolphins capitalized with a 10-play, 82-yard drive to go up 17-3 at halftime. Tua scrambled out to his left and found Malik Washington near the front pylon for the score. 

The second half started with two straight punts, and then the Dolphins’ defense got a gift. Atlanta got deep into Dolphins’ territory after a DPI penalty on Rasul Douglas, but Bijan Robinson dropped the ball while running, and it kicked right to Tyrel Dodson. 

Miami’s offense turned that into a 10-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a Tua 43-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle to make the score 24-3. 

Waddle did most of the work after the catch, but it was nice to see Miami connect on one of its patented in-breakers off run action. 

The Dolphins did not take their foot off the gas, as the defense continued its dominant play by forcing a turnover on downs, giving the offense great field position. 

After a bunch of runs, Tua hit Ollie Gordon III on a screen pass for a touchdown to make the score 31-3. Gordon went untouched from 20 yards out on a screen pass that was working all day for the Dolphins. 

The Dolphins would add three points in garbage time, and Atlanta would score its only touchdown, leading to the final score of 34-10. 

Offensive Recap 

For the first time under head coach Mike McDaniel, it felt like the Dolphins finally leaned into being a running team. That might be a slight overreaction, but ESPN’s Benjamin Solak reported Sunday was the first time Miami used a six-OL set under McDaniel. 

This was likely due to tight end Julian Hill’s injury since he was the team’s primary blocking tight end. Whatever the reason, it worked. Miami finished with 140 rushing yards on 37 carries. 

Achane had 18 carries for 67 yards, and Gordon eclipsed his career high in carries and yards with 10 and 46, respectively. He also added a score through the air off a tunnel screen. 

Jaylen Wright even got involved, adding nine carries and 27 yards. 

As for the passing game, Miami didn’t do anything crazy, but Tua was efficient, and most importantly, a good decision-maker. He finished the game completing 20-of-26 passes for 205 yards, four touchdowns, and zero turnovers. 

Perhaps the best sign in this game was some of the timing throws Tua hit in the middle of the field. There were a few to Waddle and one back-shoulder ball to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine that stood out. 

That’s been an area of struggle for Tua this season, so it was good to see him hit some of those throws akin to previous seasons. 

Miami’s offensive line was moving bodies in the running game pretty well, but as always, the All-22 will be a much better indicator of its play, especially in pass protection. 

Defensive Recap 

Miami’s defense was fantastic against the Falcons Sunday. In what’s been an incredibly rough start to the season, the Dolphins’ defense was dominant in all facets in the win. 

The Dolphins’ defense held Kirk Cousins to just 173 yards through the air and did a great job forcing him to make tough throws while missing his top receiver, Drake London, due to injury. 

Beating up on a backup QB without his top weapon should be at least somewhat expected. What’s far more impressive is the work Miami did against the Falcons and standout running back Bijan Robinson. 

He finished with just 25 yards on nine carries, as players like Jordyn Brooks really stood out defending the run. Brooks finished with 10 tackles, a whopping three tackles for loss, and a sack. 

The Dolphins’ captain was all over the field in this one and deserves a ton of credit. Of course, it wasn’t all about him, though. Zach Sieler got a tackle for loss, and Jaelan Phillips had some nice pass-rush reps from the interior. 

Ultimately, the Dolphins allowed just 213 yards of total offense in the game — by far their fewest allowed of the season. Miami also held Atlanta to just two-of-11 on third down. 

This continues a trend of the defense making improvements, as it also played reasonably well against the Browns last week.