It feels good to be writing about a Miami Dolphins win for only the second time during the 2025 National Football League season. And really, it wasn’t just a win — it was a total domination of their opponent, the Atlanta Falcons.
Miami went to Atlanta and snatched a 34-10 victory from the beaks of the Dirty Birds, giving themselves some much needed momentum as they head into a much anticipated Thursday Night Football clash against the Baltimore Ravens under the bright lights of Hard Rock Stadium. Ravens MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson is most likely back from injury for this game, so the Dolphins defense — a defense that held Kirk Cousins, Bijan Robinson and the rest of the Falcons in check for a full 60 minutes on Sunday — will certainly have their hands full.
We’ll worry about Thursday’s game in short order, but for now, let’s see whose stock is trending upwards and who needs to step their game up as we take one final look back at Sunday’s win over Atlanta.
Fins Up
Tua Tagovailoa has found himself mentioned in this column a couple of times already this season — just not for positive reasons. On Sunday against the Falcons, Miami’s 27-year-old signal caller had himself a highly efficient showing, so it’s only right that we recognize what was his best performance of the season so far and name him our Fins Up player of the week.
Tagovailoa completed 20 of 26 passes (76.9%) for 205 yards passing and four touchdown throws. The Dolphins quarterback was pulled in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, or his stat-line would have looked even better than it already did.
Tagovailoa’s future in Miami is still hanging in the balance, as one game doesn’t change his entire career outlook, but if he can finish the second-half of the 2025 season strong, while also staying healthy, it may allow Miami to look elsewhere in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft instead of drafting the quarterback’s replacement.
Fins Down
On a team that dominated their opponents like the Dolphins did on Sunday, it isn’t easy finding players who could have been performing better, but one player — a newcomer (but not really) — didn’t play up to the standards he has set for himself.
Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. was signed off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad after the Dolphins lost Tyreek Hill for the season with a gruesome knee injury. On Sunday against the Falcons, he made his 2025 debut for Miami after spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the club. Despite his knowledge of the offense, Wilson Jr. had just one catch for two yards against Atlanta while looking lost on multiple routes run.
Wilson Jr. isn’t high in the pecking order regarding Miami pass catchers, so his involvement in the offense moving forward may be minimal. Still, it would be nice if the receiver could contribute in positive ways throughout the rest of the 2025 season when his number is called.
