The Falcons don’t want to call it a Super Bowl hangover.
One simply can call it getting outscored in the second half. By a lot.
The Falcons have been outscored 72-40 in the second half of their five games this season, including 20 unanswered points by the Dolphins in a 20-17 loss at home on Sunday to drop to 3-2.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn can’t explain the trouble putting away teams.
“I know in this game we just didn’t get enough possessions for sure,” Quinn said Monday. “We need possessions. We need time. Creating turnovers is one way that can certainly help.
“Having the mindset to go for it the same way they do in the first half, when you look at it first half, second half and points. There are no moral victories with this task. You either got the job done or you didn’t.”
Against the Dolphins, the Falcons were driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, but tight end Austin Hooper didn’t attack a pass from Matt Ryan. Dolphins cornerback Cordrea Tankersley stripped the ball. It popped up to safety Reshad Jones for an clinching interception.
“I thought No. 1, (the pass) went to the right spot,” Quinn said of his video review of the play. “I couldn’t quite tell in the game how it got tipped. For us, the lesson there was always go aggressively to catch it. Don’t wait for it. Go aggressively to get it.”
The meltdown against the Dolphins, after the Falcons held a 17-0 halftime lead, came at a bad time. The Falcons are set to play the Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl LI at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Falcons led 28-3 before giving up 31 unanswered points over 17:06 of regulation and overtime in the greatest collapse in Super Bowl history back in February.
“With everything that happened in the Super Bowl, that happened then,” safety Keanu Neal said. “We are focusing on 2017. It’s a new team. We know what we know about New England, but it’s a new year.”
But the Falcons are still blowing second-half leads a season later. They don’t appear to have learned the lesson from the Super Bowl collapse.
Against the Dolphins, the Falcons run defense was shredded in the second half and their potent offense was kept off the field. The run defense was giving up 93 yards per game and ranked 11th in the league. The Falcons gave up a season-high 138 yards rushing as Miami averaged 4.5 yards per carry and ran some valuable time off the clock in the second half.
Dolphins running backs Jay Ajayi and Damien Williams had success running to the weak side of an unbalanced line.
Ajayi rushed 26 times for 130 yards, becoming the first running back to rush for more than 100 yards against the Falcons this season. Williams rushed four times for nine yards. Quarterback Jay Cutler had one carry for minus-1 yard.
“We talked about it and now it’s just about moving forward and getting ready for the next week,” safety Keanu Neal said. “We had some onesies. A few plays that we didn’t fit it right or we had a penalty here or there. We gave them extra downs. At the end of the day when we get rid of those onsies we’ll be fine.”
Neal was asked to explain the term onesies.
“Just when you mess up on a play or you don’t fit your gap right,” Neal said. “Just playing together and technically sound.”
The Falcons gave up 125 yards rushing against the Bears. They gave up 117 against the Bills, 71 to the Lions and 59 to the Packers. Buffalo’s LeSean McCoy rushed 20 times for 76 yards against the Falcons as the previous individual high this season.
The unit did a better job with missed tackles than it had this season. However, defensive end Brooks Reed lost containment early when Ajayi scooted outside for an 18-yard gain, the Dolphins’ longest run of the game.
“They executed really well,” Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen said. “They have a strong offensive line and we knew that for sure.”
The Falcons believe they can play the run much better.
“We just have to tackle,” Allen said. “You have to get into your spot and make your plays. We are a defense that has gap for gap. You’ve got to sit in your gap and make your plays when it comes to you.”
Middle linebacker Deion Jones led the Falcons with 11 tackles. Neal had eight tackles.
Defensive end/linebacker Vic Beasley has moved on to New England.
“Tom Brady is a guy with a big heart,” Beasley said. “He never gives up, you can tell that from the Super Bowl. I have a lot of respect for him because he’s accomplished a lot of things in his career. I understand that he’s going to give us his best shot, every team his best shot.”
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