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Ready to put last year’s crushing Super Bowl loss behind them, the Atlanta Falcons get the 2017 campaign started Thursday night with a preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins.
Here’s a look at everything you need to know to watch the preseason Week 1 matchup:
Date: Thursday, August 10, 2017
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV Channel, Falcons Markets:
WUPA (CW/69 – Atlanta)
WFXG (FOX/54 – Augusta GA)
WGXA (FOX/24 – Macon GA)
WXTX (FOX/54 – Columbus GA)
WTOC (CBS/11 – Savannah)
WALB (NBC/10 – Albany GA)
WBRC (FOX/6 – Birmingham)
WDFX (FOX/34 – Dothan AL)
WSFA (NBC/12 – Montgomery AL)
WAFF (NBC/48 – Huntsville AL)
TV Channel, Dolphins Markets:
WFOR (CBS/4 – Miami)
WPEC (CBS/12 – West Palm Beach)
WBBH (NBC/2 – Fort Myers)
WFTV (ABC/9 – Orlando)
Live Stream: Sling TV (select markets), DirecTV Now (select markets), Fubo TV (select markets) or NFL Game Pass (if the game isn’t in your market)
Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL
Preview
With the injury to Ryan Tannehill and the signing of Jay Cutler, the Dolphins’ offense looks significantly different than it did just a couple days ago. Cutler has impressed since arriving in Miami, but he won’t be out there for Thursday’s preseason opener:
That leaves Matt Moore, who was the starter for all of about 48 hours, along with 2016 seventh-round pick Brandon Doughty and David Fales to man the quarterback position for Miami.
Another Dolphins player to watch will be second-round rookie Raekwon McMillan, who has already entrenched himself as the team’s starting inside linebacker:
Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke basically verified Thr inside linebacker spot belongs to Raekwon McMillan.
The Falcons also have some intriguing young defensive players. Duke Riley, a third-round pick out of LSU, is behind De’Vondre Campbell on the team’s unofficial depth chart but is expected to eventually overtake him for the third linebacker spot, while fifth-round defensive back Damontae Kazee has drawn praise from Julio Jones:
Asked Julio Jones which young #Falcons defenders have stood out most to him so far, his answer: @Damontaekazee and @1Goal1Dream
Throw in first-round defensive end Takk McKinley, and the Falcons look to have a nice infusion of youth on the defensive end to pair with last year’s explosive offense. We’ll see on Thursday if that translates to game action.
