Falcons looking for red-zone fixes in home game against reeling Dolphins

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ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are looking for better red-zone execution, given that they are one of the league's leading teams in total yards but still rank close to the bottom in scoring.

Their search for answers continues on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, who bring a three-game skid to Atlanta 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 364.3 yards per game and feature the fourth-best rushing offense, led by Bijan Robinson. Even with Robinson ranking second in the league in scrimmage yards and Drake London giving Michael Penix Jr. a dependable target at wide receiver, the Falcons rank 28th with their average of 18.3 points.

The Falcons misfired with mistakes on both sides of the ball in last week's 20-10 loss at San Francisco. They've scored a combined 10 points in their last 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 Falcons defense, which has top-10 rankings in both points and yards allowed.

“You’ve seen them showing up over and over again,” Penix said of the defense. “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 week's 31-6 loss at Cleveland, leaving more heat on coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has thrown three interceptions in each of the last two games.

Penix, who took over as the starter for the final three games as a rookie last year, now has nine career starts. He suffered a bone bruise to his left knee against the 49ers but remained in the game.

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 picks.

Penix acknowledges he must improve.

“I got a lot more to go,” Penix 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.”

McDaniel knows it falls on him to end the Dolphins' skid.

“I’m very motivated in times such as these because I do think that this is when leaders are needed the most,” the fourth-year coach 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.”

Rookie Quinn Ewers and Zach Wilson competed this week for Miami's backup quarterback spot. Ewers outperformed Wilson in practice last week to earn the role against Cleveland.

McDaniel said he would like for the player who wins the job 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 completed 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards, including a 40-yard completion to Dee Eskridge.

Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Tuesday's decision to release former starting wide 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 Buffalo and San Francisco.

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 in Weeks 5 and 6 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 over that two-game span before the Browns held him to one catch for 15 yards last week.

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AP Sports Writer Alanis Thames in Miami Gardens, Florida, contributed to this report.

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