Week three of the NFL preseason is by far the most important for viewers in that it almost always represents a “dress rehearsal” for about half the game. By this I mean that most teams will let the staters play the entire first half instead of one drive in the third quarter. This gives us, the viewers, the first bit of relevant insight as to how the season could shape up for our respective teams. Here’s what we learned from Thursday night’s first game.

The game was actually played in Orlando so neither team was actually given home team designation. This exhibition between to sub-par teams showed to be far more exciting than one could have expected.

First, the Miami Dolphins. Ryan Tannehill opened the game with a jaw-dropping 23 yard run. He made some good passes, scrambled well and ultimately threw an interception to star CB, Desmond Trufant. The pick was, however, written off as a fluke by most as it came from a deflection at the line that just happened to land right in Trufant’s hands. All in all, the game opening drive made the open-minded viewer wonder just what coach Adam Gase had done to Ryan Tannehill. It was as if he were an actual NFL quarterback- the same kind of quarterback we expected him to be in 2015. Tannehill had another pass in a later drive that SHOULD have been picked off but was dropped. All in all, however, he had a successful night throwing 20-29 for 155 yards.

The next star of the show for the Dolphins offensive squad was veteran running back, Arian Foster who looked unstoppable. We only caught glimpses of him but what we saw left no doubts that he’s not done yet. He had five carries for 10 yards and a touchdown- which is underwhelming on paper, but watch the clip of the cut he makes to score. It’s genius and something we’d never have expected from a 30 year old back in a new system coming off a season-ending injury last year. Furthermore, he truly shined in the passing game with 2 receptions for 20 yards. Compared to Jay Ajayi’s 7 touches for 11 yards and 2 receptions for 12, Foster looked like a superstar. Ajayi was the first RB on the field last night but I wouldn’t expect that to be the case in week 1.

More things to note for the Dolphins are that Ndamukong Suh went down early with an apparent ankle injury though Miami is reporting that its nothing serious. Kenny Stills proved to be a much more impactful part of this Miami offense than expected with a team leading 4 receptions for 46 yards. Granted, that is likely due to Jarvis Landry having to square up against Desmond Trufant all night, it’s not unreasonable to expect bigger things to come from Sills in this offense that has found life.

That brings up our next point. The Atlanta Falcons looked absolutely terrible. Matt Ryan was 12-22 for 129 yards and an interception. The offensive line just couldn’t get it done for him. He was constantly under pressure and when he had space he was making bad throws. Devonta Freeman looked nothing like the superstar we saw in the first half of 2015. He went 5 for 8 yards and 2 receptions for 10.

Julio Jones looked unstoppable for one play where he snagged a 17 yard catch before he went down with an ankle injury. The team expects him to be fine for week one and pulled him as a precaution. Mohamed Sanu had 2 catches for 19 yards. He will certainly become an integral part of this offense if Jones were to miss any time.

All in all, the Falcons showed that they have a lot of work to do before week one if they want to be a contender in the league’s weakest division.