Falcons’ Playoff Hopes Fading Fast After Dreadful 24-Point Loss to Dolphins

ATLANTA, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons’ playoff hopes took a massive hit Sunday as the struggling Miami Dolphins handed them a 24-point beating at home. The loss was Atlanta’s second straight, and with a brutal two-game road stretch ahead, their path to the postseason is quickly fading.

The Falcons were thoroughly outclassed by a previously 1-6 Dolphins team. They were out-gained by 125 yards, but 65 of the Falcons’ 213 total net yards came with the Falcons down 31 points with 8:36 left in the game. Defensively, they struggled getting Miami off the field.

The road only figures to get harder from here. Starting next Sunday, the Falcons are set to kick off a two-game road trip against a pair of streaking AFC opponents. 

Their first stop is in Foxborough for a matchup with the New England Patriots (winners of five straight games) before hopping on a plane to traverse the Atlantic to take on the AFC’s top team in the Indianapolis Colts in Germany. 

Those are two of the hottest teams in the NFL, and a depleted Falcons team will need to play some of their best football of the season if they are to avoid a potential four-game losing streak that would derail the season. 

Granted, the Falcons have seemed to rise and fall with the quality of their opponents this season. Against the five best opponents, including three who would be in the postseason if the season ended today, they hold a scoring differential of plus-20. Against the two worst opponents on their schedule, by record, they are minus-54. 

Say they find a way to split those two games, the Falcons would then sit at 4-5 with eight games to go in the year. To reach the playoffs, 10 wins may be the minimum in a competitive NFC. To do that, Atlanta would need to win six of their final eight contests.

Their slate would include winnable games against the Panthers (a team that beat you by 30 points), Saints (twice), Cardinals, and the Jets, but it also includes playoff teams like the Seahawks, Rams, and Buccaneers. Any margin for error they might have had after the win over Buffalo has quickly evaporated. 

Playoffs were the expectation at Flowery Branch this summer, and the moves in the offseason reflected that. 

Terry Fontenot was highly aggressive in the spring’s draft, trading up for James Pearce Jr. and Xavier Watts. The moves have largely been beneficial for a rejuvenated Falcons defense this season, but trading both a first- and fifth-round pick leaves their future draft equity in a weakened state. 

There was already pressure to win now, but aggressive moves like that only serve to accelerate the expectations for this season. 

While there is still time to get back on track, the results have just not been there through the first half of the season. Losses like Sunday only make the road more difficult. 

The Falcons entered this season believing they were ready to contend. Eight weeks in, they’re searching for answers, and time is running out to find them.