Falcons Defense Shines Late vs. Dolphins: 'It's Never Over'

The Miami Dolphins were on the wrong end of a turnover avalanche at the end of their game against the Atlanta Falcons.
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The Atlanta Falcons nearly had the game out of their grasp against the Miami Dolphins, leading by just a field goal with under three minutes to go and their opponent driving.

That may have been a surprise for those who simply looked at the scoreboard at the end of the game to see ... Falcons 19, Dolphins 3.

Atlanta's defense and special teams put 13 points on the board in as many seconds and forced three turnovers in the final tidbit of the win on Friday night.

The first points came from Dee Alford, who returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown.

“Yes, it is never over until it’s 00:00 on the clock," Alford said. "Which is crazy because I was talking to the guys, I went out for a punt return at first and he kind of punted it out of bounds, but I told them when I get my hands on the ball, I was going to score.”

Just two plays after Alford's touchdown, cornerback Breon Borders picked off Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson for another score.

“I saw the quarterback throw the ball and I broke on it," Borders said. "In practice they preach run to the ball and good things will happen to you. A good thing happened to me. I made a play.”

But the playmaking didn't stop there. Second-year pro Arnold Ebiketie strip sacked and recovered a fumble on the next drive, giving the Falcons the ball back with two minutes left to go.

"We want to attack, we want to be aggressive, and I think today kind of showed that we’re in the right direction to where we want to be as a defense,” Ebiketie said.

And if that wasn't enough, the exclamation point came when the clock hit zero and defensive back Lukas Denis picked off Thompson ... the third Atlanta pick of the game.

That's three picks and only three points allowed. Yes, the starters didn't play for either team, but if the first team can play as good as the reserves did, Atlanta's defense will be scary.


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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.