Atlanta Falcons top Miami Dolphins, 16-10, in preseason opener

There was real, live NFL football played in the Georgia Dome on Friday evening, as the Atlanta Falcons took on the Miami Dolphins in the 2014 preseason opener. When the dust settled, the Falcons escaped with a 16-10 victory in the game, but as usual in the preseason, much of the relevant action took place in the early going.

The night began in an ominous way for the hometown Falcons, as they surrendered a touchdown drive to Ryan Tannehill and company on the opening possession. Miami needed 10 plays and less than 5 minutes to cover 73 yards, and when Tannehill found Brandon Gibson for the touchdown, it was the punctuation mark on an ugly defensive drive for Atlanta. In the early going, there was little-to-no pass rush for the Falcons (sound familiar?), but fortunately, that unit picked things up for the rest of the evening.

Matt Ryan and the first-team offense responded in kind on their first drive of the preseason, and Ryan was flawless in engineering a 15-play, 77-yard touchdown drive to tie the game. Ryan finished his only drive of the night having completed all seven of his pass attempts for 53 yards, and Jacquizz Rodgers capitalized on that efficiency with a 2-yard touchdown run. Perhaps the most positive thing on the drive, though, was the play of the offensive line, with Jake Matthews highlighting what looked to be a comfortable and productive group, at least on this night.

Non die-hard fans could have fled to the exits at that point, because the rest of the game did not contain any real fireworks. The defense for Mike Nolan and company was extremely vanilla from a scheme standpoint, and while there were some encouraging moments (Prince Shembo was impressive at times), it was mostly a night to make notes, including the fact that Robert McClain got the start in the nickel package.

Elsewhere on the offensive side, fourth-round pick Devonta Freeman finished with 50 yards on 10 carries to go along with one catch for 57 (!) yards in a reserve role, and fan favorite Antone Smith was explosive on a catch-and-run early in the game, although it was called back due to penalty. In the backup quarterback race, Sean Renfree outplayed newcomer T.J. Yates for much of the night, though Renfree finished just 6-for-15 for 108 yards, while Yates struggled visibly at times in route to a 7-for-16 night with 127 yards through the air.

Wins and losses are largely (and almost wholly) irrelevant in the preseason, but winning is never a bad thing, and Mike Smith‘s club is off and running. The Falcons will continue their preseason slate next Saturday (August 16), as they travel to Houston to take on the Texans at 8:00 pm ET. Stay tuned.