The Miami Dolphins and the Atlanta Falcons meet Saturday in week 2 NFL preseason action from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.. Both teams have one preseason game in the books so far. Atlanta fell by 20 to the Titans on Friday. As for the Dolphins, they fell by seven points to the Bears on Saturday. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.
The Falcons didn’t have a great campaign last year. Atlanta started out the year at 0-5 before winning four of their next six games. After that however the Falcons went 0-5 to finish out the year. The result was a 4-12 overall record and a last-place finish in the NFC South.
In their first preseason action of the year, Atlanta fell behind 13-0 at the break and couldn’t get much traction at all in an eventual 23-3 loss to the Titans. QB AJ McCarron had a rough outing in that one, going 5-of-12 for 36 yards and an interception. Feleipe Franks added four carries for 76 yards, however.
Over on the Dolphins’ side, they took a nice step forward in 2020, bagging double-digit wins with a 10-6 record. Although Miami finished second in the AFC East, a blowout loss to the Bills and a win from the Colts in Week 17 torpedoed the Dolphins’ hopes at a playoff berth.
In their Saturday preseason game versus the Bears, Miami had a 13-3 lead at the break before giving up 17 second-half points in a 20-13 loss. Too Tagovailoa got some action in that one, finishing 8-of-11 passing for 99 yards and an interception. Salvon Ahmed caught two balls for 31 yards and a TD as well.
The Falcons are 4-1 ATS in their last five Saturday games and 5-2 ATS in their last seven on grass. The under is 4-1 in the Falcons’ last five road games and 3-1-1 in their last five Saturday games.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins are 6-0 ATS in their last six at home and 4-1 ATS in their last five Saturday games. Miami is 12-3 ATS in their last 15 on grass and 20-8 ATS in their last 28 overall.
PICK: I’m likely going to take the Dolphins in this one. Miami did a reasonably good job on offense in the first preseason game, posting 326 total yards and 15 first downs. Their third-down efficiency (6-of-15) and time of possession (33:39) were on point as well. The rushing defense (171 yards allowed) wasn’t all that great, though. As for the Falcons, they couldn’t get much going at all with only 21 passing yards, 117 rush yards and six first downs. Atlanta was 2-of-12 on third downs and ran just 46 plays to the Titans’ 64. The Falcons certainly have some tweaking to do, so I think Miami has the edge here.