MIAMI GARDENS — Heading into Thursday night’s Miami Dolphins-Baltimore Ravens game, many wondered whether the Dolphins were on the verge of a midseason turnaround. The answer came in the form of a resounding 28-6 loss to the Ravens, dropping the Dolphins to a 2-7 season record and a good amount of time to regroup before hosting Buffalo on Nov. 9.

A quick reminder — the Bills have a seven-game winning streak against the Dolphins.

Thursday’s game featured scattered boos and patches of empty seats at Hard Rock Stadium. Most likely the coming days will feature more fans calling on the Dolphins to lose so they can enhance their first-round draft status.

Here’s what we learned in Thursday’s game:

Lots of Ravens fans, lots of empty seats

Thursday’s attendance was good, but not great. There were visible swaths of empty seats, especially in the upper deck where stretches of six or eight empty seats were visible throughout the stadium.

There were a good number of Ravens fans in the crowd, and plenty of jerseys for Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who attended Boynton Beach High School. There was a noticeable cheer when Baltimore scored to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. Pockets of Dolphins fans were seen leaving with 2:30 left in the third quarter when Baltimore had a 28-6 lead. Ravens fans left early in the fourth quarter. The stadium was almost half empty at the final buzzer. — Chris Perkins

Jackson, Flowers have happy homecomings

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who attended Boynton Beach High School, ended 18 of 23 for 204 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 143.2 passer rating. Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who attended University School ended with five receptions for 64 yards.

Achane and Waddle do damage early…and that’s it

Running back De’Von Achane (106 yards from scrimmage) and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (six receptions, 82 yards) did big damage to the Ravens early in Thursday’s game, but very little in the second half. In the first half Achane had 101 yards from scrimmage with 67 yards rushing on 12 carries and 34 yards receving on five receptions. Waddle had 61 yards receiving on four receptions. He had a 36-yard gain negated by a penalty.

Neither was able to get much going in the second half, however.

Self-inflicted damage hurts in first quarter…and second

Dolphins wide receiver Tahj Washington lost a fumble that the Ravens turned into a touchdown for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, and then they had a false start on fourth and one from the Baltimore 12-yard line by right guard Larry Borom before kicker Riley Patterson missed a 35-yard field goal wide right.

When the Ravens took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter safeties Dante Trader and Minkah Fitzpatrick ran into each other, which allowed tight end Mark Andrews to run free on a 20-yard touchdown reception. Shortly after that a questionable unnecessary roughness call on running back Ollie Gordon II negated a 36-yard completion to Waddle and the Dolphins eventually punted.

Washingtons lose fumbles

It was a rough night for Dolphins wide receivers with the last name Washington as both Tahj and Malik lost fumbles. Tahj lost a fumble in the first quarter at the Dolphins’ 18-yard line. Baltimore scored on its next possession. Malik lost a fumble in the fourth quarter at the Baltimore 10-yard line.

Tua wasn’t great

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (25 of 40, 261 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, 70.9 passer rating) was playing his second consecutive game without the receving duo of wide receiver Tyreek Hill (season-ending knee injury) and tight end Darren Waller (pectoral injury; injured reserve) and it didn’t go well. Granted, Tagovailoa was hurt by fumbles by the Washingtons (Tahj and Malik). He also had a possible interception dropped.

 Tagovailoa has stayed healthy this season but his performances have been up and down.

Tagovailoa entered Thursday’s game with four performances with a passer rating of more than 100 – New England (115.5), New York Jets (114.9), Carolina (122.0), Atlanta (138.6) – and four performances at with passer rating less than 82 – Indianapolis (51.7), Buffalo (81.2), Los Angeles Chargers (54.8) and Cleveland (24.1).

Run defense was OK until it wasn’t OK

Baltimore running back Derrick Henry (19 carries, 119 yards) had nine carries for 30 yards in the first half. The Ravens had 10 carries for 30 yards. But Henry had a 35-yard run late in the third quarter and ended the third quarter with 76 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Ravens, who ended with 150 yards rushing on 31 carries, had 101 yards rushing on 19 carries at the end of the third quarter. Henry added a 19-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins, who held Atlanta to 41 yards rushing in their 34-10 win last Sunday, entered the NFL’s 28th run defense at 145.0 yards per game.

Henry had a rough start to the season with three fumbles, two of them lost, in the Ravens’ first three games. He hasn’t fumbled since that time. Beyond that, Henry has had season bests of 24 and 21 carries in each of the Ravens’ last two games, against the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears, respectively. Henry entered Thursday’s game with 109 carries (tied for 11th in the league) for 510 yards (12th).

Baltimore-Buffalo back-to-back for third time

This is the third time in the four-year McDaniel era that the Dolphins have played Baltimore and Buffalo in back-to-back weeks. Baltimore has always been the first opponent of the two-step, the first of which was early season and the second of which was late season.

In September 2022, the Dolphins had their best back-to-back showing in the McDaniel era when they had a 42-38 come-from-behind win at Baltimore on Sept. 18 before beating Buffalo, 21-19, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 25 to improve to 3-0.

In December 2023-January 2024, the Dolphins got pounded by Baltimore, 56-19, on New Year’s Eve before losing to  Buffalo, 21-14, at home on Jan. 7, 2024, to finish the season 11-6.

This is the first midseason test against Baltimore and Buffalo, who the Dolphins host on Nov. 9 at Hard Rock Stadium, and the first time in the McDaniel era they’ve hosted both opponents in back-to-back weeks. It’s previously been a home-away matchup.

Daniel Brunskill used as sixth OL/TE again

Guard-center Daniel Brunskill, who played tight end for a while at San Diego State, was used as a sixth offensive lineman/tight end for the second consecutive game. Brunskill boosted the offense against Atlanta with his blocking skills, particularly in the run game. Brunskill played 22 snaps against Atlanta on Sunday, 15 as the sixth offensive lineman/tight end and the remaining seven snaps at guard. The Dolphins ended with 87 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Frank Smith on sideline again

Offensive coordinator Frank Smith, who is usually upstairs in the coach’s box, was on the sideline for the second consecutive game Thursday. Dolphins players said Smith, a former offensive lineman, gave them a lot of energy on the sideline in last Sunday’s 34-10 victory over Atlanta. Smith’s presence didn’t seem to spark the Dolphins’ offense in the same way against Baltimore as it did against Atlanta. The Dolphins didn’t score a touchdown Thursday.

Thursday night difficulties under McDaniel

The Dolphins entered the Baltimore game with an 0-3 record on Thursday night games under McDaniel, losing at Cincinnati (27-15) in 2022, at Buffalo (31-10) in 2024 and at Green Bay (30-17) on Thanksgiving in 2024.

Another Mike McDaniel game-management fiasco

The Dolphins, down by 15, really DID take a timeout on DEFENSE in the third quarter. That is just brutal control of the game by the people under the headsets. Inexcusable. To add insult to that injury, the next play was a 39-yard pass to Zay Flowers, and then a touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman on the play after that to make it 28-6. Then, a few plays later, Tua Tagovailoa burned one to prevent third-and-9 from going to third-and-14. — Steve Svekis

In consecutive home games, Jaelan Phillips has seen a possible sack become a foe’s big play

Against the Chargers in the final minute on Oct. 12, Jaelan Phillips was draped on Justin Herbert’s right arm on second-and-10 when the tall Chargers quarterback switched the ball to his left hand, shook off Phillips, and then threw to Ladd McConkey for a 42-yard gain that allowed Los Angeles to kick the winning field goal with 5 seconds left. Then, on Thursday night, Lamar Jackson stepped through another Phillips sack attempt to throw his first touchdown of the night to tight end Mark Andrews.

The last time Baltimore played here, in 2021, a play happened that sadly hasn’t been seen since

On Nov. 11, 2021, Baltimore made its previous visit to South Florida, where the Dolphins pulled off a 22-10 upset. Miami’s only offensive touchdown in that game (to go with an Xavien Howard fumble-recovery TD) came when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, in in relief of Jacoby Brissett, burrowed into the end zone from a yard out. That was the last running touchdown by the Dolphins quarterback. Additionally, since that day, Tagovailoa has run for only 23 first downs in 57 games, only one in the past 15 games. The first of those 15 games was the Rams game where Tagovailoa had helmet contact while making a tackle after an interception. He had had eight rushing first downs in the 15 games before that Rams win. To offer some comparison to other AFC East quarterbacks, the Bills’ Josh Allen has 48 rushing scores since Nov. 11, 2021, and a whopping 249 first downs on the ground in those 75 games. Meanwhile, the Patriots’ Drake Maye, who will play his 22nd career NFL game on Sunday, has four rushing touchdowns and 41 firsts.

Roquan Smith may have prevented a long De’Von Achane touchdown

With the Dolphins, down 14-3, facing a third-and-16 from their 42-yard-line after a questionable personal foul penalty on Ollie Gordon II, Tua Tagovailoa flipped a screen pass left to De’Von Achane at the Miami 38. Achane turned up field with two Dolphins linemen ahead of him, looking like Miami might have a big play, and maybe even a 58-yard touchdown, on their hands. However, Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith separated from a block by Jonah Savaiinaeah and brought Achane down at the Miami 48, just as center Aaron Brewer was sealing off rookie defensive back Malaki Starks at the Miami 49. Possibly a game-turning play.

Dolphins still not able to re-find their big-yardage touch

Somehow, the last time the Dolphins offense gained more than 400 yards was the 406 piled up in the 45-15 destruction of the Washington Commanders on Dec. 3, 2023, 31 games ago. The Commanders finished that year 4-13. The last time Miami exceeded 400 was with their 405 yards at Buffalo, on its way to a 13-3 season, on Dec. 17, 2022.

An early peek at 2026’s potential docket

With the Dolphins likely to finish third or fourth in the AFC East, their 2026 opponents and sites are starting to come into better focus. Other than the home-and-home series against the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and New York Jets, the Dolphins are scheduled for five other home games, with a Hard Rock Stadium rematch against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on tap along with a visit from Pat Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs then a pair of NFC North matchups against former Miami Dolphins assistant coaches as Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions and Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears visit. Additionally in Miami Gardens, there will be a game against the team from the AFC North who finishes in the same position as Miami does in the East. Based on Las Vegas odds, the Cincinnati Bengals are favored to finish third in that division and the Cleveland Browns fourth. With it being an even-numbered year, the Dolphins will play six non-divisional games away from Hard Rock Stadium. Rounding out the AFC West and NFC North scheduling, the Dolphins will visit the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. The two variable opponents will be the corresponding-finishing team in the AFC South and NFC West. The Tennessee Titans look to be a solid bet to finish in the AFC South cellar, and the odds are that either the Jacksonville Jaguars or Houston Texans will finish third. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals are the halfway-point favorites to be fourth in the NFC West with the San Francisco 49ers more likely to be in third.

Finally, the Dolphins got through a home prime-time game without a team-hobbling injury

Starting with last year’s Bills Thursday night game, when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was concussed in a collision with Damar Hamlin and had to miss the next four starts, the Dolphins have seen ruinous injuries each game under the lights at Hard Rock Stadium. Two weeks after Tagovailoa’s head shot, against the Tennessee Titans on a Monday night, pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, who had come back from an Achilles tear against the Jets in 2023, was hit on the knee by teammate Jordan Poyer. Phillips tore his ACL and was lost for the season again. Then, against the Jets in September on a Monday night, Tyreek Hill sustained an ugly knee injury and he will miss the remainder of this season. Chop Robinson did exit with a concussion, but walked off on his own power.

Tyreek Hill’s absence has taken the air (yards) out of the Dolphins’ passing offense

In the Tua Tagovailoa era, there has been a fairly binary Dolphins passing-game existence: With Tyreek Hill in the 2022 and 2023 seasons (his final two years in his 20s), and not. As Hill roasted the NFL’s No. 1 cornerbacks left and right in the electrifying days of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Tagovailoa piled up 4,751 air yards in 646 completions in the 34 games started by Hill in 2022 and 2023 (7.35 air yards per completion). In Tua’s first two seasons before Hill’s arrival, he completed 449 passes for 2,484 air yards for 5.53 air yards per completion. In the one game in 2023 that Hill missed, and then the 25 games since the future Hall of Famer turned 30, Tagovailoa had completed 471 throws for 1,991 air yards for a hollow 4.23 air yards per completion entering Thursday night. The before and after 2022 and 2023 combine for 4.86 air yards per completion (4,475 air yards on 920 completions), a 33.9% nosedive from the final prime Hill seasons. On Thursday, unofficially, Tagovailoa threw for 113 air yards on 25 completions for a 4.52-air-yard per completion figure.

Flores is the greatest Dolphins coach by one (slightly arbitrary) measurement

Brian Flores was saddled with a decimated roster as the Dolphins aimed to tank the 2019 season, in search of a franchise quarterback in the 2020 draft. Thus, he began his coaching career 0-4, outscored by a horrific 163-26. Then came the bye week. Then? Three more losses, but with a whole-different look, as the score differential was a much more competitive 75-51. And that set the stage for a 5-4 finish as Flores started riding Ryan Fitzpatrick (why, again, did Chris Grier, with all his other moves screaming TANK, sign a veteran quarterback who had had a 100.4 passer rating in 2018?) and saw his defense, which had forced a scant two takeaways in the first six games, take the ball away 14 times in the final 10 games. Then, after 10-6 and 9-8 seasons, Flores was fired. He left the franchise with a 24-18 record in his final 42 games. No Dolphins coach in history has had as good of a record in his final 42 games as Flores’ 24-18. Jimmy Johnson is second at 23-19 and Don Shula third at 22-20 (but, to be fair, two of their losses were in the playoffs). After Shula is a pile of three coaches at 20-22 (Dave Wannstedt, Joe Philbin and Adam Gase). Where is Mike McDaniel? He fell to 19-23 with the loss to the Ravens. Here is the full listing:

Flores: 24-18;

Johnson: 23-19;

Shula: 22-20;

Wannstedt: 20-22;

Philbin: 20-22;

Gase: 20-22;

McDaniel: 19-23 (active);

Sparano: 18-24;

Wilson: 12-28-2.

*NON-QUALIFIERS: Jim Bates, Dan Campbell, Todd Bowles, Cam Cameron, Nick Saban

On deck: Buffalo Bills, Hard Rock Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 9, 1 p.m.

The Bills travel to Hard Rock Stadium while, barring a Patriots loss Sunday against the Falcons combined with a Bills victory over the Chiefs, not leading the AFC East. However, after an uninspired 4-2 start where the Bills scored 27.8 points a game and yielded 22.8 per against teams who, through Week 8, had a horrific combined record of 15-31 (a .326 winning percentage), Buffalo came off their bye and routed the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte 40-9 on Sunday.