Atlanta Falcons Defense Impresses NFL.com, Offense Struggles

The Atlanta Falcons lost to the Miami Dolphins in the first preseason game of the year and first under new head coach Raheem Morris.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris greets Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel after the game on Friday night. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons lost to the Miami Dolphins 20-13 on Friday night in the first preseason game of the season for both teams. It was Raheem Morris's first game in charge as head coach of the Falcons (he was also interim-head coach in 2018).

There was plenty to like from the first showing under Morris including rooke quarterback Michael Penix Jr., but there was plenty not to like, including two-potential-season-ending injuries in safety DeMarcco Hellams and rookie-edge Bralen Trice.

Following the three preseason games across the NFL on Friday, NFL.com penned a column "What We Learned."

Evidently, NFL.com learned that offenses, loaded with backups and future cuts, struggle with vanilla game plans while coaches hope in vain that no one gets hurt.

"Raheem Morris' preseason debut as coach of the Falcons saw Atlanta put together a solid performance on the defensive side of the ball, but left plenty to be desired offensively, especially after rookie Michael Penix Jr. exited the game for the night," wrote NFL.com's Nick Shook.

Penix had a solid debut for the Falcons. He finished the night 9/16 passing for 104 yards no touchdowns and no interceptions. He took the field on the opening drive with 10 other players who aren't scheduled to be starters against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.

Still to Shook's point, the overall numbers for the Falcons were nothing to write home about.

The Falcons Podcast: Spotify | Apple Pods | iHeart

"Atlanta tallied just 226 yards of offense, finished 2 for 17 on third down and came away from two goal-to-go situations with zero points in the fourth quarter Friday night," wrote Shook. "Atlanta's lone touchdown drive started with a short field working in its favor, and when a turnover gave it another start on the doorstep of the end zone, the Falcons failed to get the job done, turning it over on downs. A second opportunity ended in similar fashion, capping a frustrating night."

All offseason we've maintained that the Falcons should move on from quarterback Taylor Heinicke. He's a legit No. 2 in the NFL, but the Falcons have a goal of developing Penix behind Cousins. Heinicke has been a bystander at practice for much of the last month, and he looked it Friday night.

"The offense lacked rhythm -- especially with Taylor Heinicke under center -- and didn't pack much of a punch for most of the night while playing a collection of backups. Here's to hoping they're just working out the kinks with players from the bottom third of the roster," Shook concluded.

Through Friday, there have been five-preseason games. Only one team, Arthur Smith's Pittsburgh Steelers offense, has cracked 300 yards (344).

On the other side of that coin is the understanding it's hard to read too much into the Falcons' good numbers on defense with the Dolphins facing the same offensive constraints. Backups vs. backups isn't a good window into the future.

What we actually learned was Michael Penix Jr. looked like a quarterback worthy of being taken in the top-10 of the NFL Draft despite the overall struggles of the Falcons' offense.

We have several other takeaways from Friday night's action.