Lamar Jackson is back to looking like Lamar Jackson, and the Ravens are back to looking like the Ravens. In his first action since missing a month with a hamstring injury, Jackson threw four touchdown passes in leading Baltimore to a dominant 28-6 victory over the Dolphins in South Florida.
The Ravens improved to 3-5, winning their second straight game, while Miami fell to 2-7, unable to capitalize on its win last week over Atlanta.
The Dolphins scored a field goal on their opening drive and forced a quick three and out. Then, Miami crumbled, and Baltimore took over for the duration of the contest. Tahj Washington fumbled deep in Dolphins territory, and four plays later, Jackson found Mark Andrews on a quick rollout to take a 7-3 lead.
On Baltimore’s next drive, Jackson extended a third-and-4 play, finding Isaiah Likely for a 35-yard catch-and-run. Two plays later, Andrews got open on a crossing route after two Dolphins defenders collided, scoring from 20 yards out.
Miami secured a second field goal before the half to cut the deficit to a single possession, but its opening frames were marred with miscues, miscommunications and misfortune. That included an incorrect tripping call that wiped out a long pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle; running back Ollie Gordon II simply tripped over himself when going to block; he did not trip the pass rusher at all. The Dolphins ended that possession with a punt.
The Ravens exited the locker rooms refocused, completely taking control of the game. Jackson guided an 11-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that utilized half of the third-quarter clock, leading to boo birds from the Hard Rock Stadium faithful after Miami answered with a feeble three and out. Jackson’s final touchdown toss went to Rashod Bateman from 9 yards out.
Though the Dolphins outgained the Ravens 225-109 in the first half, Baltimore outgained Miami 166-39 in the third quarter alone with a 10-2 advantage on third downs.
The Dolphins’ faint hopes of a comeback vanished early in the fourth quarter when Malik Washington fumbled in the red zone and Tagovailoa threw up a prayer that was picked off by Ravens first-round pick, Malaki Starks, whose first career interception put finishing touches on the win.
The Ravens will aim to win their third straight next week when they visit the Vikings. The Dolphins, who may look different by the time Tuesday’s trade deadline passes, host the Bills in Week 10.
TakeawaysJackson shakes off rust, gets everyone involved
Jackson finished 18 for 23 for 204 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, good for a 143.2 passer rating. His 18 completions were spread out across eight different receivers, and his three touchdown passes to tight ends tied a career high.
Jackson now has 18 touchdown passes and just one interception in five career games against Miami.
This game exemplified just how much Jackson means to this team. The Ravens threw one touchdown pass in three games combined without Jackson. Plus, after getting ahead early, Baltimore was able to lean on Derrick Henry. On a night he crossed the 12,000-yard mark, he finished with 119 rushing yards, 89 of which came after halftime.
Ravens defense rounding into form
Baltimore’s defensive effort was far from perfect — more on that in a bit — but it was certainly good enough, a trend that has continued after an awful start to the season.
In the first half, the Ravens set the offense up for its first touchdown when Alohi Gilman stripped Tahj Washington and recovered the fumble. The unit bent but didn’t break multiple times, too.
In the second half, the Ravens forced two more turnovers to slam the door shut. The three turnovers forced are their most in a game this season.
The Ravens allowed just 87 rushing yards, and over their past three games, they are allowing just 86 rushing yards per game. Over their first five games, they were allowing 146.
Gilman has been a terrific add. Acquired from the Chargers for edge rusher Odafe Owen, Gilman has allowed the Ravens to play three safeties — himself, Starks and All-Pro Kyle Hamilton — at a much higher rate, and Hamilton being closer to the line of scrimmage has helped the rush defense in particular.
Dolphins waste (then run out of) opportunities
The Dolphins got inside the Ravens’ 35-yard line five times. Here’s how those drives ended:
field goalmissed field goalfield goalturnover on downsfumble
Miscues, miscommunications and misfortune piled up. Early on, the Dolphins were set to go for a fourth and 1, but Larry Borom false started. Mike McDaniel then sent out his field goal unit, and Riley Patterson pushed a 35-yard field goal wide right.
Three possessions later, the Dolphins, then down 14-6, got into the red zone, but a fourth-and-2 fade route to De’Von Achane went awry; Achane and Tagovailoa weren’t on the same page, and Tagovailoa’s pass landed nowhere near his running back.
That’s how — despite holding a 225-109 yards advantage — the Dolphins trailed at halftime. Then the Ravens dominated the second half and turned what was a tight game into a blowout.
Miami simply doesn’t have enough margin for error to withstand issues like these. Tagovailoa had some good moments but wasn’t on the same page as his intended receivers far too often. The inability to finish drives eventually led to the bottom falling out on offense as Miami desperately tried (and failed) to play catchup.