The Miami Dolphins may already have clinched a playoff berth, but the 56-19 beating they took from the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday sure didn’t make them look like a playoff team.
The Ravens (13-3) are obviously on a roll as of late, winning six in a row and 10 out of their last 11. But to completely throttle a high-scoring AFC playoff team the way they did to the Dolphins (11-5) was a bit concerning if you’re a Miami fan, even if it was a loss against the NFL’s top power ranking team.
The Dolphins were just coming off their own impressive win from the week before, where they outlasted the Dallas Cowboys 22-20 to give them their first win over a team with a winning record. But when it came to facing the favorite to win the MVP in the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, it was seemingly too much for the Dolphins to handle.
Now the head coach Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins have to contend with the surging Buffalo Bills for the AFC East title next weekend. But before that happens, we have to lay blame on the Week 17 losers.
Tyreek Hill’s bobbled touchdown catch
With Jackson and the Ravens matching the Dolphins’ first drive of the game, going touchdown for touchdown, Miami had to settle for a field goal on their second drive of the game thanks to a missed touchdown opportunity. The Dolphins were able to drive 65 yards in 6 plays, but when they got inside the Ravens’ 10, a Tua Tagovailoa pass was bobbled by Tyreek Hill that would have been a touchdown. The unusual mistake by the speedy receiver left the Dolphins having to settle for a field goal, going up only by three instead of seven.
Tua Tagovailoa throws two interceptions
By the time Tagovailoa threw his second interception, the game was well out of reach as the Dolphins were down 35-13. However, the Miami quarterback’s first interception with under three minutes left in the half, where the Dolphins were only down 21-13. Tagovailoa was picked off by Roquan Smith at the Baltimore 32.
Four plays later, the Ravens capitalized on the Dolphins’ turnover and turned it into eight points to go up 15. Even though the Dolphins got the ball back before the half, the Ravens forced them to punt with Baltimore getting the ball back to start the half, which they then scored again to go up 22.
Mike White’s lost fumble
In total, the Dolphins had three turnovers on the day, but again, like Tagovailoa’s late interception, running back Mike White lost a fumble with just over four minutes to go in the fourth quarter that, in all reality, didn’t matter much by then as the Dolphins were already down 49-19. However, the fumble occurred at the Miami 25, which then turned into yet another Baltimore touchdown three plays later to increase the lead to 37.
Dolphins’ secondary
While the turnovers were obviously costly to Miami’s high-powered offense, their defense, specifically their secondary, did them no favors on Sunday. The Ravens were able to score on eight out of their 11 drives, all resulting in touchdowns and no field goals. But Lamar Jackson torched them all day long, possibly having one of the best games of his entire career.
Jackson had more touchdowns than incompletions against the Dolphins, going 18-for-21 for 321 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 15.3 yards per pass, finishing with a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
One of those completions came on only one play in the first quarter on a 75-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers that resulted in Miami’s defensive backs not only out of coverage but missing two tackles while attempting to keep the receiver out of the end zone.
The very next drive, Jackson hit Isaiah Likely for a 35-yard touchdown reception where once again missed tackles were an issue.
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