Ravens @ Dolphins
Final Score: Ravens 28, Dolphins 6
Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)
A pair of teams both entering a short week off a crucial victory met in Miami on Thursday night as the Miami Dolphins hosted the Baltimore Ravens. With both teams with just two wins, it was a must-win game for both sides. The Dolphins got on the board first but the Ravens responded with a short touchdown drive off of a turnover to take a 7-3 first-quarter lead. The Ravens added a second score in the first half and the Dolphins chipped away at the lead with a field goal. Miami moved the ball exceptionally well in the first half but a pair of empty trips to the red zone left them trailing 14-6 at halftime. In the second half, Baltimore marched down the field for a touchdown drive and forced the Dolphins to go three-and-out to open the third quarter, extending their lead to 21-6. Baltimore added another touchdown and then milked the rest of the clock as the Dolphins continued to flounder in the red zone, failing to score a touchdown all evening to fall, 28-6.
The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how close the game felt throughout as the Dolphins were able to put together some decent drives before shooting themselves in the foot with costly mistakes – turnovers, mental lapses and penalties – that ultimately cost them. The Ravens won the war of attrition, making fewer mistakes and capitalizing on the advantages they were gifted. Let’s dig in.
Three Up
- Lamar Jackson – Shook off the rust and instilled confidence in his offense – but still doesn’t appear to be 100%.
- Derrick Henry – The Ravens bludgeoned the Dolphins until they wore down and the King reached 100 rushing yards for the third time this season.
- Devon Achane – One of the only Dolphins that appears to be failure-proof – he finished with 20 touches and over 100 total yards.
Three Down
- Malik Washington – Lost a fumble and looked lost as a punt returner.
- Ollie Gordon II – Saw limited touches before leaving early with an injury.
- Tanner Conner – The presumed next-man-up at tight end for the Dolphins was surpassed by Greg Dulcich in the passing game.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: 18/23, 204 Yards, 4 TDs | 5 carries, 14 Yards
Lamar still looked a step slower than most are accustomed to – less shifty in the pocket than we’re used to seeing, and the play-calling was the most obvious indicator of his health. Jackson did not have a single designed run called in the first half, and the Ravens almost completely moved away from the read option base alignment and offensive concept that was so prevalent the past couple of seasons under offensive coordinator Todd Monken. He scrambled more in the second half, there was some lateral movement within the pocket and some extension of plays but nowhere near the explosive dynamism we’re used to seeing out of him. With 10 days off before a Week 10 game against the Vikings, maybe Lamar is able to recover further, but for now don’t expect the same built-in rushing floor that we’ve grown accustomed to for fantasy purposes.
This slightly-less-mobile version of Lamar was still excellent from within the pocket, distributing the football to nearly every possible receiver throughout the game. Eight different pass-catchers pulled in at least one reception, and Jackson played nearly a mistake-free game in the pocket. He has improved significantly at subtly manipulating and moving the pocket, not just putting his eyes down and running. He’ll need to keep that up if the Ravens intend to come all the way back from a 1-5 start to make the playoffs.
Running Back
Derrick Henry: 19 Carries, 119 Yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Henry started slow, but finished the night with a flurry, rushing for 80 yards on 10 carries in the second half. He demonstrated excellent vision on his longest rush of the night, taking a dive play and bouncing it outside as his tackle sealed the edge for a 35-yard gain. It was clear that the Dolphins’ defense grew tired as the game wore on, Henry continued to bludgeon them with hard runs between the tackles, gashing them for multiple 10+ yard carries in the fourth quarter to crack 100 rushing yards for the third time this season. It was concerning as the Ravens came out of halftime with a lead and proceeded to drop back for passes on eight of 11 plays on their touchdown drive out of the break – appearing to abandon the run almost entirely. But they came back to it – setting up the run with the pass like an off-speed pitcher setting up a fastball.
Justice Hill: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Hill operated as the passing down back, as usual, taking over for most third downs and the two-minute drill.
Keaton Mitchell: 4 Carries, 11 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards
Mitchell was worked in as a spell back for Henry, with all of his touches working outside the tackles on off-tackle runs or sweeps around the edge. His speed is undeniable, but he wasn’t able to break any of his carries for big gains in this one.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Zay Flowers: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 64 Yards
Flowers caught a couple of important first down receptions early on, but with Lamar’s distribution spread so thin there wasn’t the same feeling of Flowers’ emergence as an alpha receiver that managers had seen in prior weeks. It could have very well been game plan specific as the offense seemed to move more through the tight ends – a weakness of the Miami defense. Flowers could be in store for a better matchup next week against the blitz-heavy Vikings.
Mark Andrews: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards, 2 TDs
Andrews was the beneficiary of some bad coverage on Thursday night, resulting in three targets for two touchdowns. On his first score, Andrews was able to find a soft spot in a goal line zone defense, settling in and pulling down a catch in a tight window. His second touchdown came against a botched man coverage where two Miami defenders ran into each other, leaving the tight end wide open on a crossing route to the end zone. With trade rumors circulating, it’s hard to imagine the Ravens dealing their all-time leader in receiving scores. But with so much depth and talent in the Ravens’ tight end room, it remains a possibility.
Rashod Bateman: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards, TD
Bateman was mostly a non-factor outside of a short-yardage touchdown catch. He did a great job of reading his quarterback and breaking off his route in the end zone to elude the defense as Lamar extended the play, finding the wide receiver in the painted area nearly all alone.
DeAndre Hopkins: 1 Target
Isaiah Likely: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 60 Yards
Likely felt like more a part of the game plan in this one, finally pulling in a few receptions further than just a few yards down the field. With his physical tools, it would be nice to see the Ravens get him the ball in space more often, but that has yet to be seen this year. Growth and progression from Likely this week though, which is something fantasy managers can be grateful for.
Charlie Kolar: 2 Targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards, TD
For the second-consecutive week, Kolar vultured a score from the rest of the Ravens’ skill position players, sneaking across the formation on a play action look to pull in a touchdown pass. The Ravens’ third tight end and primarily used as a blocker, Kolar is living proof that Todd Monken is just Arthur Smith with a better PR team (and a generational quarterback).
Miami Dolphins
Quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa: 25/40, 261 Yards, INT | 1 carry, 1 yard
Tagovailoa continues to underperform, especially for a guy who called out his whole organization earlier this season. Any time that he was able to maintain his rhythm and throw on time, he was accurate and effective. When he got off script, he struggled. The whole team was bad in the red zone, but Tua made some questionable decisions down in that area. On fourth and short, Tagovailoa opted for a goal line fade to his 5’9″ running back instead of feeding his alpha wide receiver or his burly tight end. Forced to take a chance at the end of the game, Tua’s interception came on a 50/50 ball to his deep receiver that was picked off by a Ravens safety. At this point, it’s difficult to consider Tua for fantasy purposes and it might only get worse as the season progresses.
Running Back
De’Von Achane: 14 Carries, 67 Yards | 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 39 Yards
Achane looked explosive nearly every time he touched the ball, as the Dolphins did a decent job of scheming him looks to get the rock in space and make plays. When he gets up to top speed, he’s difficult to bring down and nearly impossible to catch in open space. As the Dolphins fell further behind, Achane’s rushing role diminished, though he was still pretty active in the passing game. It’s just that when Tua takes shots downfield they aren’t going to be to his running back. For the Dolphins to remain competitive, they need to feed Achane … and for Achane to remain dominant in fantasy he needs the Dolphins to remain competitive. It’s a vicious cycle!
Ollie Gordon: 2 Carries, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 yards
Didn’t see much usage early on and then suffered a second quarter injury and didn’t return. It’s a shame, but with the way the game was playing out he may have been phased out by the game script anyway.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaylen Waddle: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 82 Yards
It felt like Waddle was the first (and only) receiver that Tua was looking for on any throw beyond five yards past the line of scrimmage. The pair connected for several timing routes where Waddle was able to catch on the run and continue in stride for yards after the catch. He was Tua’s clear favorite option and one of the only bright spots on this offense.
A bad flag on a legal block (tripping) negated a massive gain for Waddle on a double move down the sideline, preventing an even bigger night.
Malik Washington: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 48 Yards, FUMBLE (Lost)
It was a rough night for Malik Washington. Not only did he cough up a fumble on a jet sweep play in the red zone, he didn’t catch a single punt on the fly, letting each one drop to the turf before either allowing the Ravens to down the ball or retreating to pick it up. Just an ugly game for the second-year wideout.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards
Cedrick Wilson Jr. : 1 Target, 1 Receptions, 7 Yards
Tahj Washington: 2 Targets, 1 Receptions, 11 Yards
Tanner Conner: 1 Target
Greg Dulcich: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 49 Yards
Cut by the Giants after the preseason despite looking solid in the passing game, Dulcich caught on with the Dolphins and earned an opportunity after injuries to Darren Waller and Julian Hill. He was more involved than Conner in the passing game and seemed to have built some rapport with his quarterback. He’s a name to consider in deep leagues as a streaming tight end or to cover in a bye week situation.
Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky