What We Saw: Ravens at Dolphins

Justin Herrera recaps the Thursday night contest between the Ravens and Dolphins and dives into the fantasy implications of this defensive battle.

Justin Herrera
What We Saw 3 Years Ago

Ravens @ Dolphins

Final Score: Dolphins 22, Ravens 10

Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)

 

The Baltimore Ravens traveled to South Florida to play the disappointing Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. The key injury heading into this game was Tua Tagoviloa, who ended up playing in this game after Jacoby Brissett left with an injury scare. This turned into a defensive game on both sides as the Dolphins pulled away with the game after a fumble was returned for a touchdown. Lamar Jackson saw his hot stretch of play come to an end in this one, as the Dolphins pressured him all night and repeatedly forced this Ravens offense to make mistakes.

 

Baltimore Ravens

 

Quarterback

 

Lamar Jackson: 26/43, 238 yards, TD,  INT | 9 carries, 39 yards

 

 

Lamar Jackson came into this game with a reputation for being a slow starter. Boy was that the truth in this one. His first drive looked solid as the Ravens utilized their run game to get downfield, and during this drive, Jackson threw a perfectly placed ball in the end zone for Sammy Watkins. Unfortunately, Watkins looked like he was either injured on the route or just lost track of the ball, missing an opportunity and forcing the Ravens to kick a field goal.

Jackson’s second half was almost as bad as his first, at one point the Ravens went 11 possessions without scoring. On the Ravens’ lone touchdown drive, Jackson got some help from the defense who got penalized for 35 yards on the drive. The biggest play was a 20-yard catch and run by Rashod Bateman, which set up an awkward-looking pass to Mark Andrews for a TD. The last drive for Lamar ended with an interception and thus the game ended. 

Jackson was pressured a lot in this game, he was only sacked four times, but it seemed like he was getting hit every other play. His fantasy value shouldn’t decrease after this game, it’s more of just a hiccup. Expect Jackson to get back on track soon.

 

Running Back

 

Devonta Freeman: 10 carries, 35 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards

Le’Veon Bell: 3 carries, 1 yard

 

Devonta Freeman much like Myles Gaskin was ineffective throughout this game. Freeman’s best drive was the Ravens first, on this drive he logged 20 of his 35 yards on 3 carries. Freeman will most likely be the lead back going forward for Baltimore but how much does that really mean when you are paired with Lamar Jackson. Freeman’s week-to-week value will be dependent on matchups and game script, look for him to be a flex player for the rest of the season.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Rashod Bateman: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 80 yards

Mark Andrews: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 63 yards, TD

Marquise Brown: 13 targets, 6 receptions, 37 yards

Devin Duvernay: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 28 yards | 1 carry, 19 yards

Sammy Watkins: 3 targets, 1 reception, 7 yards

 

 

Rashod Bateman is getting better by the week and his biggest play of the game was a 20 yarder that set up a TD. In that final drive, Bateman caught two passes for 28 yards. Take away that 20-yard catch, however, and Bateman averaged 12 yards per reception. His fantasy outlook is looking strong for the rest of the season as a WR3/flex.

Mark Andrews scored on a 5 yard TD and was the “go-to guy” in this game for Lamar Jackson. If Lamar needed a first down he was either targeting Bateman or Andrews, both getting 8 targets on the day. Andrews has been up and down this year, but if this offense can get back on track and start focusing more on the passing game then look for Andrews to continue to be a stalwart TE1.

Marquise Brown looked like the 2020 version of “Hollywood”, he dropped easy passes and missed on opportunities. He had 13 targets on the game, so he was given the chances in this game, but just didn’t get it done today. Brown is someone I’m concerned about, with the emergence of Bateman, I still think he can be a low-end WR2, but consistently he should be considered a WR3/flex.

One guy that got really involved in this game was Devin Duvernay who had a big 19-yard end-around as well as averaging 7 yards per reception. Fantasy wise it’s not a move you want to make unless you’re in a dynasty league.

 

Miami Dolphins

 

Quarterback

 

Tua Tagovailoa: 8/13, 158 yards | 3 carries, TD

Jacoby Brissett: 11/23, 156 yards | 1 carry, 4 yards

 

 

Jacoby Brissett got the start in this game with Tua Tagovailoa sitting out with a finger injury. The first half of this game for the Dolphins was very lackluster as the Ravens were putting a lot of pressure on Brissett. It wasn’t until the third drive of the night that Brissett and the Dolphins got something going. Starting with a 9-yard completion to Salvon Ahmed, and then getting a pass out to Adam Shaheen for a 21 yard contested catch. This set up a game-tying field goal. After this drive, the Dolphins went back to being ineffective until the last drive of the half. Brissett on that final drive completed 4 of 6 for 84 yards, with 52 of them coming off a broken play pass to a wide-open Isaiah Ford, which led to a Dolphins field goal.

On the first drive of the second half Brissett went down with a lower leg injury, so Tua stepped in and lead the offense the rest of the game. Business picked up for Tua and the Dolphins on their third drive of the second half. Tua and Myles Gaskin played a game of “hot potato” that ended in a pass to Gaskin for 14 yards. On the next play, Gaskin caught a 10-yard dump-off, which was followed by a 35-yard bomb to Jaylen Waddle. This series set up a field goal for the unit. Two drives later Tua collected his lone TD of the game after stretching the field with Albert Wilson for 64 yards and putting in the TD on a one-yard QB sneak. 

Tua played a half this week and looked like the best quarterback on the field in this game. If Tua can play he has a strong upside as a QB2 week to week.

 

Running Back

 

Myles Gaskin: 14 carries, 31 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 14 yards

Salvon Ahmed: 2 carries, 6 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards

 

 

Myles Gaskin was held in check for just about all of this game. Only reeling off two big runs of 8 and 11 yards, so if you take out those 19 yards then Gaskin had 10 carries for 14 yards. His best play might’ve been his 14 yards “hot potato” back and forth pass with Tua. Salvon Ahmed was an absolute non-factor in this game. Going forward Gaskin should be considered a flex at best, even if he’s getting the RB1 role in Miami he’s behind a terrible line and he’s not a “bell cow” back.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Albert Wilson: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 87 yards | 2 carries, 19 yards

Isaiah Ford: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 84 yards

Jaylen Waddle: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 61 yards

Adam Shaheen: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 34 yards

Durham Smythe: 1 target, 1 reception, 23 yards

 

 

This game was an odd game for the Dolphins receiving corp, for one Mike Gesicki was targeted seven times and didn’t record one reception. On the other hand, Albert Wilson was on fire in this game getting two end arounds for 19 yards, then later on in the game taking advantage of busted coverage for 64 yards. This helped set up a game-sealing touchdown for the Dolphins.

Isaiah Ford was another recipient of targets in this game catching all 4 of his targets and ripping off a 52 yarder that helped set up a field goal to put the Dolphins ahead going into the half. Jaylen Waddle showed why he is the future of this receiving corp, whether it was reaching out for the first down or keeping his feet chopping to drag a defender for extra yards. Waddle was just the man, and he’ll be a big threat in fantasy going forward.

Adam Shaheen went up and snagged a big-time contested catch over safety Chuck Clark. Other than Waddle, I’m not looking to roster any of these guys, and I’m also not concerned long-term with Gesicki’s lack of production.

 

— Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)

 

Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

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