As the Falcons yawn, stretch, and awaken to a week with actual Atlanta football, it’s worth asking how they might fare against the Miami Dolphins. To determine that, it’s helpful to look at the opponent, and heck, it can’t hurt to look back at how they’ve done coming out of the bye in previous years. Let’s see how they looked in 2016 and 2015, Dan Quinn’s first two years in Atlanta.
A year ago, the Falcons beat the stuffing out of the Arizona Cardinals following their bye week, with a 38-19 victory keyed by three rushing touchdowns, a long receiving touchdown for both Tevin Coleman and Taylor Gabriel, and a game effort by an improving defense.