As a football game, it was pretty artless, with some nice stretches from the defense and a handful of big plays on offense and special teams adding a little excitement to a contest that was otherwise plodding, penalty-ridden, and low-scoring. As an audition for this Falcons roster, it told many tales, some of them tragic and some of them terrific.
That was the third preseason game in a nutshell, with the Falcons dispatching the hapless Dolphins 17-12. Atlanta’s starters went out there against Miami’s
backups and struck first, with Brian Robinson capping off a Tua Tagovailoa-led drive with a score. Tua would then fumble an iffy snap from Corey Levin to derail a drive, marring an otherwise effective but unexciting night featuring a lot of short passes, and then the backups were in. Cooper Rush mostly stuck to short passes himself, with a nice quick toss to Jack Velling for a touchdown, but uncorked a beautiful in-stride ball to Tyler Goodson that set up a field goal before the half. The 17 points were all the Falcons would score, as the second half featured an extremely bland gameplan for Jack Strand—though he was still fairly sharp, minus an interception that went off Nate Carter’s hands and into the air for Miami—and some poor defense that set up a pair of Dolphins field goal drives.
There are no big takeaways for the starters, except for the fact that it was nice to see them largely dominate Miami’s reserves and the stern warning Tua must receive over the number of fumbled snaps he’s had this summer. The reserves are a different story, given that players like Goodson, Velling, Harold Perkins Jr., Chris Williams, and Rush did well enough to make a big push for roster spots, while others scuffled mightily. If the coaching staff was wavering on who to keep around at positions like cornerback and running back, tonight probably provided them with the data points they needed to make a decision.
And blessedly, preseason is now over. Roster cuts are tough because good players and good people ultimately will get the axe, but knowing the shape of the roster lets us properly evaluate what the team will be capable of. Knowing the practice squad helps us get a better sense of who the Falcons want to develop and what break-in-case-of-emergency options exist for them. All of that is welcome, especially for a first year front office and staff, even if I’ll undoubtedly be sad to see many Falcons who spent the spring and summer here headed elsewhere.
While we wait for news of cuts and additions both before and after the Sunday cutdown deadline, let’s dive in to the full recap. The next time we gather to talk about a game, it will be one that counts in the NFC South standings.
The Good
- The Falcons almost seemed like they were keeping Jack Strand corked in this one, so the heavy lifting fell to Cooper Rush. While Rush was also seemingly held in check by a vanilla game plan early on and missed a couple of short throws, he led the offense to two scoring drives and had two of the best throws of the night for any quarterback on a sharp slant to Jack Velling for a touchdown and a beautiful ball to Tyler Goodson for the long gain before the half that set up a field goal. I don’t know Atlanta’s plans at quarterback, but at this point, Rush hasn’t done anything to play himself out of a QB3 role. It’s just a question of whether the Falcons view Strand’s upside as significant enough to part ways with Rush or try to sneak him on to the practice squad. For what it’s worth, I think they very well might.
- Tyler Goodson rocks. Once again he looked terrific in this one, with the highlight play coming in the second quarter on a pretty ball from Cooper Rush that hit him in stride downfield, with Goodson hitting an insane spin move to pick up more yards and then smartly spiking it to set up a field goal try right before the half. He’s the third running back and has been good enough that he might get a little regular season work even with the Robinsons healthy.
- Vinny Anthony and Chris Blair are my picks for WR5/6, if the Falcons keep that many guys. Blair continues to run effective routes and look very sure-handed, while Anthony has been dynamic as a receiver and damn good as a returner, with the patience and vision to turn good blocking into a late kick return that went past midfield. Both guys deserve spots, but if there’s only one up for grabs, Anthony’s return value might give him the edge.
- If Tua is the quarterback, it looks likely Jahan Dotson will get plenty of run. He was a favored security blanket during Tua’s short starting stint in this one, and looked good and decisive in that role.
- Kyle Pitts looked really good in this one. He got loose on a screen for a big pickup early on and easily led the team in receiving yardage, showcasing those long strides that let him simply outrun defenders and the sure hands that give him an opportunity in the first place. In an offense built to showcase tight ends and looking healthy and sure of himself, Pitts could be headed for a monster season.
- Nick Muse is a solid blocking tight end and player overall, and I think the Falcons will try to keep him around in some capacity. But it was Jack Velling who did a lot of damage in this one as a receiver, and a really solid summer has given the rookie undrafted free agent a genuine shot to stick around as the fourth tight end. The only question is whether the Falcons will keep four on the 53 man roster—unlikely, in my opinion—or sneak him on to the practice squad.
- I loved Harold Perkins Jr. pursuing Cam Miller to the ends of the earth on a third down in the second quarter. This is the third preseason game and the stakes seem low, but Perkins treated every Miller juke as a personal affront and eventually got him, sacking him and forcing a fumble that fell out of bounds. That relentlessness is going to stand out for this coaching staff, and Perkins did open as a starter in this one.
- Chris Williams has been heating up as the summer has gone along. He’s shown some legitimate pass rushing ability, getting after Cam Miller repeatedly in this one, and then blocking a field goal try early on in the game. He’s making this roster and should be a fun player in a go get ‘em front.
- Cameron Thomas has been another good addition, making the most of his early down snaps and picking up a pretty effortless sack tonight. If he can get home consistently and deliver that solid work against the run, the Falcons have another very useful piece.
- Quietly, the Falcons run defense has looked pretty good this summer, with a few tough stretches against the Broncos looking like the only knock against this front. I don’t know if that will translate to the regular season just yet, but it’s an encouraging sign.
- Josh Woods should make the roster. I know Channing Tindall has ties to special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman, but Woods is a very capable special teamer and has played his ass off on defense all preseason long. The highlight in this one was a hustle play where he came in to recover a high snap and fumble by quarterback Mark Gronowski, another testament to his instincts and effort. With zero offense intended to Tindall or JD Bertrand, Woods has been doing this long enough and well enough that I’d hope he would make it ahead of either of them.
- James Pearce Jr. got two sacks working against the deep reserves, but we know he can also do that against the starters. The Falcons are going to miss him through the first half of the season, but the hope is that all goes well during his suspension, he abides by the term of his trial diversion program, and we see him later in the year.
- The Falcons have some good problems at safety, where Sydney Brown and Natrone Brooks offer positional versatility—and Brooks looked pretty solid last night—and Jammie Robinson and DeMarcco Hellams offer considerable special teams value and useful physicality. The Falcons won’t keep all four of those players around, but
- Special teams has been special this summer. Chris Williams had a leaping field goal block, Jake Bailey pinned the Dolphins deep, and every one of Atlanta’s many return options has looked at least competent thus far, with Anthony shining again. Over the past couple of years, Atlanta’s special teams had unfortunately fallen into disarray, so it’s nice to see a return to better days potentially on the horizon under new special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman.
- You can’t overstate how nice it is to see the Falcons make it to the regular season pretty healthy after significant preseason injuries have contributed to shaky seasons in the recent past. Let’s hope that continues.
The Ugly
- Maybe Tua Tagovailoa starts Week 1, especially with Michael Penix Jr. working his way back at a pace that doesn’t risk his recovery. But increasingly it looks like any starting stint for him will be a shorter one if he even gets there, because the mistakes are mounting for the veteran quarterback. In this one, he was fine on a handful of short passes until the first snap of the second drive, where the snap was a little sloppy but Tua utterly failed to grab it and then failed to fall on it, allowing the Dolphins to recover it. With the problems he’s had with snaps and the lack of a standout summer, Tua’s going to have to hope Penix isn’t ready and then will need to be superb just to hold the gig, though I think he showed enough to hold the job if Penix isn’t A) 110% ready to go and B) impressive over the next two weeks.
- Brian Robinson Jr. is taking over for Tyler Allgeier, who never fumbled, so fumbling is not a good early impression. He did run pretty well, though.
- Goodson was already making this roster, but Cash Jones and Nate Carter had their chances to make stronger cases. Jones was fine but quiet, but Carter badly missed a Strand pass in his hands that turned into an interception, which is almost certainly the death knell for his chances at a roster spot. I still think he might hit the practice squad.
- Clark Phillips was a player I loved coming out of the draft, but the returns have been slowly diminishing. The fact that he was in for the second half of the third preseason game and scuffled—picking up a penalty and losing his man in the end zone for a potential touchdown, though the receiver dropped it—means he’s probably on his way out of Atlanta. I’ll hope for a practice squad spot because I think the talent is still there, but it just hasn’t worked out the way we envisioned.
- In fact, add the whole cornerback room here. We know the Terrell brothers, Mike Hughes, and Darnay Holmes are getting spots, but it gets real questionable after that. Malcolm DeWalt IV, Cobee Bryant, and Phillips all struggled mightily, and while I think DeWalt will make the practice squad at least, others may not be so fortunate. Natrone Brooks’ special teams value and safety cross-training and CJ Henderson’s experience may get them roles early on by default, especially if Billy Bowman Jr. isn’t ready to return just yet. If the Falcons have to dip deep into this group, I can’t say I’d feel stellar about it.
The Wrapup
Game MVP
On a night with no true standout, I’m giving it to Kyle Pitts for looking like the caliber of player who is going to wreak havoc on the NFL this year. Honorable mentions to Cooper Rush, James Pearce Jr., and Chris Williams.
One Takeaway
The Falcons are pretty healthy coming out of preseason, and all the big decisions ahead will help us decide how much potential they have in 2026.
Next Week
A layoff of two full weeks and change before we see the Falcons square off against the Steelers in Week 1. Much more coverage to come, of course.
Final Word
Ontotheregularseason.
