The Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins do battle Friday night in NFL preseason action from Hard Rock Stadium. The Falcons are coming off a disappointing season, going 7-10 overall for a fourth-place finish in the NFC South. As for the Dolphins, they made a postseason run at 9-8 but ended up falling in the Wild Card Round. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons had a pretty miserable overall campaign in 2022, and were never above .500 on the season. Atlanta was 4-4 through eight games and ended up stumbling with a 3-6 record from there in a 7-10 run. The Falcons finished just three spots out of the basement in the entire NFC, so they’ve got some work to do this year. 

All eyes will be on the quarterback position in 2023 as Atlanta officially kicks off the Desmond Ridder era. Last year Ridder finished off the season at 2-2 with 708 pass yards and a couple of touchdowns. He’ll get a boost this year with the addition of No. 8 overall pick Bijan Robinson, and the receiving corps isn’t looking too bad with Kyle Pitts and Drake London back on the field. Some quality Ridder/Pitts chemistry would go a long way on the scoreboard. 

Miami Dolphins

Over on the Dolphins’ side, they hit the skids at the tail end of the regular season, losing five of their final six games after an 8-3 start. Miami was still able to eke into the playoffs and take a second-place AFC East finish with that record. Unfortunately, the Dolphins were bounced from the Wild Card Playoffs in Buffalo during a tough 34-31 result. 

Heading into the 2023 season, Miami’s biggest question mark is star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Two major concussions in consecutive weeks were an obvious concern not only to his long-term health but to the team’s success. Miami is 23-13 with Tagovailoa under center and 5-9 without him. Defensively, Miami is primed for a strong season if they can quickly get acclimated to DC Vic Fangio. Jalen Ramsey (knee) is out for a while, but there’s still plenty of talent here including lynchpins Jaelan Philips and Bradley Chubb. 

The Falcons are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five road games. Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in their last eight on grass. 

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are 4-1 ATS in their last five overall and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 at home. The under is 7-1 in Miami’s last eight at home. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to go with the Falcons. With Miami’s defense learning a new system and terminology this year, things may start slowly on that side of the ball. This first on-field action will likely feature plenty of hiccups, blown assignments and vanilla coverages as the players return to game speed. Atlanta probably won’t get too exotic themselves, and it’s a safe bet to think that the team who had the most rushing attempts in the league last year (559) will kick things off with a heavy ground attack in preseason game one. We probably won’t see too many key names for long in this matchup as the second-string players and beyond should take most of the snaps. It’ll be a solid opportunity to get a look at the depth on both sides, though. Should be a fun matchup.