The Miami Dolphins will put their perfect record on the line this afternoon against the Atlanta Falcons, the first of three straight tough games on the 2013 NFL schedule that the Dolphins must overcome in order to keep a goose egg in the loss column. The 1-1 Falcons took out the Rams last week and hope to achieve a winning record if they can hand the Dolphins their first defeat. Watch Sunday Football online live streaming instructions for this NFL football game can be found below.
Miami flew in under the radar this season and has built a 2-0 record with a pair of road wins against the Browns and Colts. They haven’t started a season 3-0 since 2002, or well over a decade, so emotions will be running high on the Dolphins sidelines considering that and the fact that today is their home opener.
Leading the Dolphins is quarterback Ryan Tannehill who is coming off 319 yards through the air on 23 of 34 passes. He also tossed a touchdown pass to freshly signed free agent Mike Wallace, one of a career high nine receptions for the receiver that totaled 115 yards. In the previous week again the Browns, Wallace only caught one pass so it’s great for Miami fans that he and Tannehill are now on the same page.
The Falcons made a huge offseason acquisition in Steven Jackson from the Rams, then lost Jackson to injury during their win against those same Rams last weekend. Rams coach Mike Smith calls the injury “short term,” but regardless of how many weeks Jackson ends up missing, he will definitely be watching today’s game from the sidelines in street clothes.
Jackson’s injury is only the beginning of the Falcons woes. Defensive end Kroy Biermann and fullback Bradie Ewing are lost for the season. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon won’t be back for at least another eight weeks, and left tackle Sam Baker won’t be playing today, either. Cornerback Asante Samuel’s status will be a gametime decision.
Working right for the Falcons is the Matt Ryan to Julio Jones connection. Jones has emerged as one of the league’s top wide receivers early this season by grabbing 18 passes for 258 yards, including an 81-yard bomb for a touchdown. That combination is giving defenses fits, and that’s before factoring in Tony Gonzalez at tight end. Ryan likes them both as noted by his league-leading 71.6 percent passing completion percentage.
Today’s game is the first real test for the Dolphins and will prove a measuring stick to see how good they really are. A win get the rest of the league talking about them. A loss and they’ll slide into obscurity and be known as the team with a soft schedule to start the 2013 NFL schedule.
Kick off for the Atlanta Falcons vs Miami Dolphins NFL Sunday Football game on Fox will officially get underway at 4:05pm EST / 1:05pm PST, 20 minutes earlier than the other afternoon NFL games on the schedule. Fox is not offering a free online live streaming version of the game. You can access the game online by subscribing to the ever popular NFL Sunday Ticket package via DirecTV here and upgrading to the Max package that provides iPad, tablet, computer and more live online streaming options to choose from.
