Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Falcons collapse

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Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes, Cody Parkey kicked a pair of field goals and the Miami Dolphins rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit to stun the Atlanta Falcons 20-17.

DOLPHINS 20, FALCONS 17

ATLANTA — Jay Cutler and the Miami Dolphins finally generated some offense.

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons totally fell apart.

The result: a stunning 2017 victory for the Dolphins.

Cutler threw two touchdown passes, Cody Parkey kicked a pair of field goals and Miami rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit, rekindling memories of Atlanta’s collapse against New England in the Super Bowl.

And next up for the Falcons — a rematch against the Patriots.

“It’s tough,” Atlanta linebacker Vic Beasley Jr. said. “We experience­d that feeling before in the Super Bowl.”

Ryan, who had five intercepti­ons in the two previous games, threw another crucial pick with the Falcons in position to at least attempt a tying field goal.

Cordrea Tankersley got a hand on a pass intended for Austin Hooper and Reshad Jones swooped in to make the game-clinching intercepti­on inside the 10 with 39 seconds remaining.

“I kept my eyes on the ball and made a great play,” Jones said. “This was a huge win for us against a great offense.”

The Falcons don’t look so great at the moment.

Ryan is just one intercepti­on away from his total for all of last season, when he was the league’s MVP.

“I understood we were in field goal range to tie the game. I also understood that we had plenty of time on the clock,” Ryan said of the final possession.

“It was a throw I felt good about, so I let it rip. Just a good play by them. Sometimes, that’s how it goes.”

Parkey put the Dolphins (3-2) ahead for the first time with 2:30 remaining, booting a 38-yard field goal after a gutsy play by receiver Jarvis Landry, who was hit by six players but still managed to power ahead for a crucial first down.

Cutler, who struggled in his first four games as the Dolphins’ fill-in starter after putting off retirement, completed 19 of 33 for 151 yards, including scoring passes to Landry and Kenny Stills. Jay Ajayi had a big game on the ground, rushing for 130 yards.

“We can’t be satisfied with this game,” Cutler said. “This is a one-week business.”

The Falcons (3-2) appeared headed for an easy victory, especially against a team that had scored only three offensive touchdowns all season.

Marvin Hall, promoted a day earlier from the practice squad because of an injury to starting receiver Mohamed Sanu, hauled in a 40-yard touchdown with his first career reception. Tevin Coleman scored on a 6-yard run, and Matt Bryant had a 50-yard field goal.

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