Defense Shines Late vs. Dolphins: 'It's Never Over'

The Atlanta Falcons nearly had the game out of their grasp against the Miami Dolphins, leading by just a field goal with under three minutes to go and their opponent driving.

That may have been a surprise for those who simply looked at the scoreboard at the end of the game to see ... Falcons 19, Dolphins 3.

Atlanta's defense and special teams put 13 points on the board in as many seconds and forced three turnovers in the final tidbit of the win on Friday night.

The first points came from Dee Alford, who returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown.

“Yes, it is never over until it’s 00:00 on the clock," Alford said. "Which is crazy because I was talking to the guys, I went out for a punt return at first and he kind of punted it out of bounds, but I told them when I get my hands on the ball, I was going to score.”

Just two plays after Alford's touchdown, cornerback Breon Borders picked off Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson for another score.

“I saw the quarterback throw the ball and I broke on it," Borders said. "In practice they preach run to the ball and good things will happen to you. A good thing happened to me. I made a play.”

But the playmaking didn't stop there. Second-year pro Arnold Ebiketie strip sacked and recovered a fumble on the next drive, giving the Falcons the ball back with two minutes left to go.

"We want to attack, we want to be aggressive, and I think today kind of showed that we’re in the right direction to where we want to be as a defense,” Ebiketie said.

And if that wasn't enough, the exclamation point came when the clock hit zero and defensive back Lukas Denis picked off Thompson ... the third Atlanta pick of the game.

That's three picks and only three points allowed. Yes, the starters didn't play for either team, but if the first team can play as good as the reserves did, Atlanta's defense will be scary.