ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons are looking for better execution from their offense in the red zone, given that they are one of the NFL’s leading teams in total yards this season but still rank close to the bottom of the league in scoring.
Their search for answers will continue against the Miami Dolphins, who are bringing a three-game skid into Sunday’s matchup at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and have a defense that could give the Falcons plenty of opportunities near the goal line.
The Falcons (3-3) rank seventh in the NFL with their average of 364.3 yards per game and feature the fourth-best rushing offense, led by versatile running back Bijan Robinson. Even with Robinson ranking second in the league in scrimmage yards and Drake London giving second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. a dependable option at wide receiver, the Falcons rank 28th with their average of 18.3 points scored per game.
The Falcons misfired with mistakes on both sides of the ball in last weekend’s 20-10 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers. They’ve scored a combined 10 points in their past two road games and play four of their next five away from Atlanta after Sunday, making it even more important to fix their scoring offense against the Dolphins (1-6).
Penix said the offense needs to provide better support for an improved Atlanta defense that has top-10 rankings in both points and yards allowed.
“You’ve seen them showing up over and over again,” Penix said. “It’s great to see. For us as an offense, now we’ve got to match that energy that they’re bringing. The way that they’re playing on the opposite side, they’re stopping teams from getting points. We’ve got to put points on the board to play that complementary football.”
Miami hit a new low in last weekend’s 31-6 road loss to the Cleveland Browns, leaving more heat on fourth-year head coach Mike McDaniel and sixth-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has thrown three interceptions in each of the past two games.
McDaniel knows it falls on him to end the skid.
“I’m very motivated in times such as these because I do think that this is when leaders are needed the most,” he said. “You’re coaching to win football games, but your true test as a coach does come in adverse situations, which has always been the case. … It’s a big-boy league, it does get tough, but I signed up for the tough parts, not the easy parts.”
Tagovailoa will likely need to lean on speedy receiver Jaylen Waddle even more, given that tight end Darren Waller was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Waddle saw an increase in targets recently as the Dolphins adjusted to the absence of Tyreek Hill, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
Waddle caught 12 passes for 205 yards in a two-game span before the Browns held him to one catch for 15 yards last week.
Quinn Ewers, who was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, and fifth-year pro Zach Wilson competed this week for Miami’s backup quarterback spot. Ewers outperformed Wilson in practice the week before the Cleveland game to earn the role against the Browns.
McDaniel said he would like for the player who wins the job this time to remain the backup going forward.
“I’m looking to avoid hopefully a back-and-forth and would like to solidify that,” McDaniel said. “But I think competition raises everyone.”
Ewers replaced Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter against the Browns and was 5-of-8 passing for 53 yards, including a 40-yard completion to Dee Eskridge.
As for Atlanta’s Penix, who took over as the starter for the final three games as a rookie last season, now has nine career starts in the NFL. He suffered a bone bruise to his left knee against the 49ers but remained in the game. Penix was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report after having limited participation in practice.
Penix has a 60% completion rate with eight touchdown passes and six interceptions in his nine games. This season, he has completed 119 of 195 passes (61%) for 1,409 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Penix acknowledged he must improve.
“I’ve got a lot more to go,” he said Wednesday. “I plan on playing for a while. I do feel good. I feel comfortable where I’m at. But there’s definitely things on film that I see that I know I need to improve on, and I will.”
Finding a steady third option out wide could also help.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Tuesday’s decision to release former starting receiver Ray-Ray McCloud was not a disciplinary move.
“Everything here is always going to be performance based,” Morris said. “It’s always going to be based off what’s best for the football team. … Those are always the outlying issues of whatever we’re talking about. There’s nothing disciplinary.”
McCloud had 62 catches for 686 yards in 2024, his first season in Atlanta. He had six catches for 64 yards through four games this year and was a healthy scratch against the Buffalo Bills and the 49ers.