Falcons 30, Dolphins 28: Another Matt Ryan 4th quarter comeback spares fans heartbreak

Also, Kyle Pitts may literally be unstoppable.

The Falcons came into this game fresh, but with Dante Fowler freshly put on injured reserve. The Dolphins came in off a loss to the Jags in London and a week full of rumors about their starting QB. Did Atlanta take advantage of the rest and a Miami team that was on a 5 game losing streak? Read on to find out.

First quarter

Atlanta wins the toss and defers. Miami’s offense starts from their 25 with a run by Malcolm Brown for 4. The screen to brown loses a yard and on 3rd and 7 Tua Tagovailoa completes an 8 yard pass to Jaylen Waddle. Brown runs for 3 and Myles Gaskin does the same. Tua connects with Waddle again for 17 and another first. Gaskin runs for 6 and again for the first. Tua connects with Adam Shaheen for 5, Gaskin for 2 and on 3rd and 3 Mike Gesicki takes the quick pass for the first. Gaskin runs for 2 and Fabian Moreau knocks away the pass intended for Preston Williams in the end zone. On 3rd and 8 Tua connects with Isaiah Ford for the touchdown.

Falcons 0, Dolphins 7

Starting on the 25, the Atlanta offense starts with 1 yard on the ground by Cordarelle Patterson. The quick pass to Patterson loses yards and on 3rd and 12 Ryan can’t connect with anyone. Atlanta punts.

From their 27, Miami starts with an incomplete pass, a pass to Gaskin for 2 and a short pass to Shaheen that is well short of the first. Dolphins punt.

The offense takes over on their 17 with a pass to Kyle Pitts for 23. Ryan connects with Hayden Hurst for 10 and another first. Patterson runs for 7 and the screen to Ridley goes through his hands. On 3rd and 3, Mike Davis breaks 14 billion tackles to pick up the first. Lee Smith receives for 7 and Patterson runs for the first on 13 yards. Ryan is sacked for a big loss of 11 on first down. On 2nd and 21, the quick pass to Gage gains 3 as the quarter ends.

Falcons 0, Dolphins 7

Second quarter

With 3rd and forever to go, the pass to Pitts picks up 13. Younghoe Koo comes on and puts the Falcons on the board.

Falcons 3, Dolphins 7

After the touchback, Tua connects with Gesicki for 2 and Tua scrambles for 9 and the first. Gesicki takes the pass for 15 and another first. Salvon Ahmed runs for 3 then takes the pass for 9 and the first. He runs again for 7 and A.J. Terrell knocks away a pass on 2nd down. On 3rd and 3, Tua can’t connect with Gesicki after Moreau makes a good play. The Falcons block the 49 yard field goal attempt, as Ade Ogundeji gets his hand up.

The offense takes over on their 39 with a run by Patterson for 1. Ryan’s pass to Patterson goes incomplete and on 3rd and 9 Ryan connects with Russell Gage for 12 and the first. Ryan hits Keith Smith for 6 then he finds Olamide Zaccheaus for 13 and the first. Davis runs for 2 and Ryan hits Hurst for 15 and another first. The first down target to Ridley goes incomplete then Patterson runs for 7 to put it at the Miami 5. Ryan then connects with Ridley for the touchdown.

Falcons 10, Dolphins 7

Tua and the Dolphins offense start on their 25 with a run by Gaskin for 5. The pass to Waddle picks up 7 and the first. Tua connects with Waddle again for 19 yards and another first. Ahmed runs for 2 and a false start costs them 5 yards. Preston Williams gains 3, but a face mask penalty on Ogundeji gives them 15 more. Gaskin runs for 1 and Tua connects with Durham Smythe for 9 and the first. Tua then runs up the middle for 3 and Jaylinn Hawkins kills the drive by picking it off in the end zone.

The Falcons take over on the 20 with Ryan connecting with Kyle Pitts for 36 yards and an incredible one handed catch. Ryan connects with Hurst for 9 more yards and again with Tajae Sharpe for 6 more. Ryan hits Ridley for 4 more with 16 seconds left and no timeouts. He connects with Gage for another 4 and Younghoe Koo comes on to punch in the field goal.

Falcons 13, Dolphins 7

The kickoff to the Dolphins is returned to the 19 and the end of the half.

At the end of the half: Falcons 13, Dolphins 7

Third quarter

After Patterson returns it to the 23, the Atlanta offense starts with a deep shot to Kyle Pitts for 26 yards down the left sideline. Patterson runs for 2 and Matt Ryan connects deep over the middle with Russell Gage for 49 yards and the touchdown!

Falcons 20, Dolphins 7

After the touchback, Gaskin starts the Miami drive with an 8 yard run and again for 6 more and the first. A run for no gain is followed by a sack by Deion Jones for a 10 yard loss. On 3rd and 20, Tua hits Smythe for 11 yards and Miami is forced to punt.

After a decent punt return by Zaccheaus sets up the offense on their 30, the Falcons offense starts with a run by Wayne Gallman for 2 yards. Ridley can’t stay in bounds on 2nd down and on 3rd and 8, Patterson takes the short pass for 4 yards and Atlanta has to punt.

The punt and return puts Miami on their 42 where the offense starts with a short pass to Shaheen for 5 and Gaskin runs for 16 and the first. Preston Williams drops the first down pass, but Waddle catches his for 14 and the first. Gaskin runs for 3 and Shaheen picks up 7 and the first on the pass. Ahmed then runs for 8 and sets up 1st and goal from the Atlanta 8. Gaskin runs for 2, and after a mess of penalties, Tua connects with Mike Gesicki for the touchdown.

Falcons 20, Dolphins 14

After the touchback, the Falcons offense starts with a throw away by Ryan. After Hayden Hurst can’t pull in the catch, on 3rd and 10 Ryan connects with Pitts for 11 and the first. Patterson runs for 2 and Ryan hits Sharpe for 12 and the first. Calvin Ridley can’t hang on to the pass across the middle and Ryan can’t connect with Patterson on 2nd down. On 3rd and 10, Ryan can’t hit Gage deep and Atlanta has to punt. Falcons punt unit downs Miami at their 12.

Tua starts the drive with a 9 yard pass to Mack Hollins for 9 yards. Ahmed is stuffed on the 2nd down run and after offensive holding sets Miami back, on 3rd and 11 Tua scrambles for 9 but it’s not enough. Dolphins punt and take us to the final quarter.

Falcons 20, Dolphins 14

Fourth quarter

From their 24, Patterson runs for 2 and Pitts can’t pull in the 2nd down pass. On 3rd and 8, Ryan targets Ridley who can’t hold on and it ends up as an interception. Dolphins ball.

From the Falcons 32, the Dolphins start with a subsequent interception of Tua by Foye Oluokun that he returns for 56 yards to the Miami 14!

Patterson starts the drive with a 1 yard run and Ryan hits Ridley for 6 yards and a roughing the passer penalty sets Atlanta up with 1st and goal from the Miami 3. Patterson finishes the drive with a 3 yard touchdown run.

Falcons 27, Dolphins 14

After Gaskin returns it and Miami is penalized, the offense starts from the Miami 10 with a pass from Tua to Smythe for 18 yards and the first. He then hits Gesicki for 27 more. Gesicki catches for 9 more and Ahmed runs for 5 and the first. Waddle takes the pass for 11 and another first and Gaskin runs for 3. A short pass sets up 3rd and 6 and Tua scrambles for 9 to setup 1st and goal from the Atlanta 7. Tua finishes the drive with the TD pass to Myles Gaskin.

Falcons 27, Dolphins 21

After Patterson returns it and they get penalized, the offense starts from their 9 with an incomplete pass. Russell Gage can’t pull in the 2nd down pass and on 3rd and 10 Ryan hits Calvin Ridley for 11 and the first. Cordarelle Patterson keeps the chains moving with an 11 yard run. Davis runs for 2 and Ryan can’t connect with Patterson on 2nd down. On 3rd and 8, Ryan scrambles and ultimately fumbles it. Miami recovers.

Miami starts with 1st and 19 after two penalties with a screen pass to Ahmed for 17 yards. Ahmed then runs it to pick up the first. Gaskin runs for 13 and the first. Gaskin loses 5 on the run after Deion Jones gets him in the backfield. After an incompletion, on 3rd and 15 Tua hits Gesicki for 16 to setup 1st and goal from the Atlanta 8. Gaskin runs for 4 and Tua completes the drive with the TD pass to Mack Hollins.

Falcons 27, Dolphins 28

Starting from their 25, Matt Ryan kicks off the drive with a deep pass to Kyle Pitts for 23 yards as we go to the 2-minute warning. Matt Ryan finds Kyle Pitts yet again down the right sideline for 28 yards and putting the Falcons in field goal position. Mike Davis runs for 3 as Miami uses a timeout with 1:50 left. Patterson runs for another 5 and Miami burns another timeout with 1:45 left. Patterson then runs for the first down and Miami burns their last timeout. Patterson runs for 2 and Ryan takes a knee twice to burn the clock. Younghoe Koo comes on the field for the 4th down kick and after a false start, he punches it in for the win.

Final: Falcons 30, Dolphins 28