The Dolphins got blown out on the road in Week 7, but Week 8’s road trip is going much better for them.
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle took a short pass from Tua Tagovailoa and broke loose for a 43-yard score with 4:18 left in the third quarter. It was Tagovailoa’s third touchdown pass of the afternoon and the Dolphins now lead 24-3.
The Falcons appeared to be driving for points early in the third quarter, but running back Bijan Robinson fumbled in the red zone and linebacker Tyrel Dodson recovered the ball for the first turnover of the day.
Robinson has just 22 yards on the ground and the Falcons have 85 as a team while playing with Kirk Cousins at quarterback in place of the injured Michael Penix.
The Dolphins entered Week 8 with questions about the future of head coach Mike McDaniel, but they entered halftime of Sunday’s game against the Falcons with a double-digit lead.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw his second touchdown of the game with 11 seconds to play in the first half and the Dolphins went into the break with a 17-3 lead in Atlanta.
Malik Washington was on the receiving end of the nine-yard score and Tagovailoa was 7-of-7 on the scoring drive. The quarterback hit running back De’Von Achane with his first scoring pass and is 13-of-17 for 111 yards and no interceptions after throwing six of them over the last two weeks.
Kirk Cousins is 6-of-8 for 53 yards in his first start of the season and the Dolphins have limited running back Bijan Robinson to 12 yards on five carries through the first 30 minutes. If they can maintain that kind of success on defense, they’ll have a good chance of picking up their second win of the season.
The Dolphins are off to a better start this week.
Running back De’Von Achane caught a three-yard touchdown from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the team’s second offensive possession and the Dolphins are up 7-0 with 2:33 to play in the first quarter of Sunday’s game in Atlanta.
The Dolphins and Falcons traded punts to open the game and the Dolphins started their second drive with a 17-yard pass to Malik Washington. They drove 79 yards in total and got a helping hand from a pass interference penalty on Falcons corner Mike Hughes.
They also took care of business themselves on a fourth down when Ollie Gordon ran for just enough on a fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris challenged the spot, but the call stood and the Dolphins continued for the touchdown.
A report on Saturday indicated that Falcons quarterback Michael Penix would miss Sunday’s game against the Dolphins because of a knee injury and the Falcons made it official 90 minutes ahead of kickoff in Atlanta.
Penix is inactive for the game and Kirk Cousins will make the start for the Falcons. It will be Cousins’ first start since he was benched in favor of Penix after Week 15 of the 2024 season. Easton Stick is active as the No. 2 quarterback.
The Falcons are also going to be without wide receiver Drake London. London had no injury designation on Friday, but was downgraded to questionable with a hip injury on Saturday.
Dolphins at Falcons
Dolphins: QB Quinn Ewers, DB Elijah Campbell, CB Juju Brents, S Jordan Colbert, WR Tahj Washington, DT Zeek Biggers, TE Julian Hill
Falcons: QB Michael Penix, WR Drake London, EDGE Jalon Walker, CB Billy Bowman, DT Zach Harrison, OL Michael Jerrell, DL LaCale London
Bears at Ravens
Bears: TE Cole Kmet, CB Tyrique Stevenson, RB Roschon Johnson, QB Case Keenum, DT Chris Williams, LB Ruben Hyppolite
Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, WR Devontez Walker, T Carson Vinson, OL Emery Jones, DT Aeneas Peebles, CB Jaire Alexander, S Sanoussi Kane
Bills at Panthers
Bills: WR Joshua Palmer, CB Brandon Codrington, LB Matt Milano, OL Chase Lundt, DT DaQuan Jones, DE Landon Jackson
Panthers: QB Bryce Young, WR Hunter Renfrow, RB DeeJay Dallas, OL Nick Samac, TE James Mitchell, DT Cam Jackson, DT Jaden Crumedy
Jets at Bengals
Jets: QB Tyrod Taylor, WR Garrett Wilson, KR Kene Nwangwu, TE Stone Smartt, DL Jay Tufele, LB Kobe King, CB Sauce Gardner
Bengals: CB Marco Wilson, OL Matt Lee, WR Jermaine Burton, TE Cam Grandy, DT McKinnley Jackson, DE Cam Sample
49ers at Texans
49ers: QB Brock Purdy, RB Jordan James, WR Ricky Pearsall, C Jake Brendel, DE Bryce Huff, DE Yetur Gross-Matos, DT CJ West
Texans: WR Nico Collins, T Trent Brown, WR Christian Kirk, QB Graham Mertz, DL Darrell Taylor, OL Jarrett Kingston
Browns at Patriots
Browns: QB Shedeur Sanders, CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse, S Damontae Kazee, RB Raheim Sanders, G Zak Zinter, T Cornelius Lucas, DT Adin Huntington
Patriots: WR Efton Chism, QB Tommy DeVito, S Kyle Dugger, DL Eric Gregory, LB Caleb Murphy, OL Caedan Wallace, DL Keion White
Giants at Eagles
Giants: S Jevon Holland, WR Jalin Hyatt, CB Paulson Adebo, T James Hudson, DL Chauncey Golston, G Evan Neal, QB Jameis Winston
Eagles: EDGE Azeez Ojulari, CB Adoree’ Jackson, C Cam Jurgens, WR A.J. Brown, QB Sam Howell
The Dolphins made a significant addition to their injury report on Sunday morning, but it is not expected to change their starting lineup for their game against the Falcons.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was added to the report with an illness. The Dolphins did not give him an injury designation for the game, so he is still in line to start for the 1-6 club in Atlanta.
The Dolphins also have Quinn Ewers and Zach Wilson at quarterback. Wilson was the backup for the first six weeks of the season, but Ewers took that role in Week 7 and played late in Miami’s blowout loss to the Browns. Head coach Mike McDaniel said during the week that the two players would continue to compete for the No. 2 job.
While Tagovailoa is expected to play, the Falcons are set to make a quarterback change. Kirk Cousins is expected to start because of Michael Penix’s knee injury.
