Another sloppy, terrible second half dooms the Falcons in loss to the Dolphins

By: Lucas Kochevar

      The Falcons came off the bye week with a hope to beat the Dolphins and get back on track. Atlanta has had success as they are 6-2 since 2009 when coming off the bye week. Atlanta came out on their first drive and they were able to hit a field goal. The Falcons would get the ball again and Matt Ryan hit Marvin Hall on a bomb for a touchdown. Then midway through the second quarter, Tevin Coleman ran for a 6 yard TD. The Falcons would go into half with a 17-0 lead. Then it all went down hill. 

       The Dolphins got the ball coming out of halftime. They would hold the ball for nine minutes and score a touchdown. The Falcons made many mistakes as they had a couple of terrible personal fouls and they actually had an interception, but it was negated by a roughing the passer penalty. The Falcons offense needed to come back and score. Sadly, they did not answer and had a very quick three and out. Miami would come back again and score a TD. The drive was full of dumb penalties and missed tackles again. The Dolphins would hit two field goals in the 4th quarter to take a 20-17 lead. The Falcons offense drove the field, but a Miami interception stopped Atlanta and they lost the game. 

        The Falcons were sloppy and terrible. This game actually concerns me as this is a season shifting loss. This game showed me that Steve Sarkisan may not be the right OC for the team. The defense has all the tools to be great, but they need to cut out these terrible mistakes and missed tackles. This team needs to improve as they travel to New England for the Super Bowl rematch.