- REWATCH: Ravens-Dolphins on NFL+ Premium
- READ: Lamar tosses 4 TDs in return: 'It's great to be back'
- READ: McDaniel shares fans' frustrations in latest loss: 'It sucks'
- READ: Chubb, Phillips know trades possible ahead of Tuesday's deadline
- READ: Dolphins, GM Grier mutually agree to part ways
- Lamar shook off rust in a successful return. After missing the past three games, Lamar Jackson made a triumphant return to the field, leading the Ravens to their second victory in four days in their effort to rewrite a nightmare start. Even with two first-half touchdown passes, Jackson looked a bit hesitant, sort of feeling his way through the game and only leading one long drive. But after halftime, Jackson looked unlocked in his hometown. His first true scramble came on the opening drive of the third quarter, with Jackson looking spry on the 13-yard run. He hit a gear he hadn’t during the first half in the third quarter, completing 9 of 10 passes for 95 yards and two TDs. His reward for a strong showing: 10 days to rest the hammy. And all of a sudden, the Ravens are 3-5, and the November schedule looks very friendly before the Week 14 showdown with the Steelers. Who knows what the AFC North will look like by then if the Ravens are playing this well?
- Dolphins’ self-inflicted mistakes cost them early and dearly. The Dolphins won the coin toss and took the ball first. They burned a timeout on the opening drive, which started well. It ended with a field goal, which was by far their most successful drive of the half. Next drive, Tahj Washington fumbled inside his own 20-yard line trying to gain extra yards, leading to a Ravens freebie TD. Then Miami’s prettiest drive to that point was undone by a Larry Borom false start on fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 12 -- which made Mike McDaniel apoplectic -- followed by Riley Patterson's brutal missed field-goal try from 35 yards out. They tacked on another field goal, but it came after a three-and-out after getting the ball at the Ravens’ 29. The halftime deficit was only 14-6, and the Dolphins were outgaining the Ravens more than two-to-one. But two Ravens TD drives to open the second half were plenty ample. Malik Washington’s fourth-quarter fumble was the capstone on another rough night of Dolphins football -- four days after their best showing of the season.
- Ravens tight ends came alive with Lamar back. Mark Andrews looked to be happy to have his guy back at QB. Andrews caught both of Lamar Jackson’s first-half TD passes after not seeing the end zone in the three games with Jackson injured. Andrews and the other tight ends weren’t really featured in those games (one combined TD), but they certainly were Thursday night. In addition to Andrews’ big night, Isaiah Likely caught three passes for 60 yards, including a pretty 35-yarder on Jackson’s first explosive pass play of the night. For good measure, Charlie Kolar even hauled in a TD on the opening drive of the third quarter that turned the game dramatically in Baltimore’s favor. The entire run-blocking operation, including the tight ends, started slowly but improved throughout the course of the game. This is a signature position of the Ravens offense with Jackson at QB, and the tight ends stood tall against the Dolphins -- another sign this team is climbing back and regaining its identity.
- Heat back on McDaniel quick on long mini-bye. On Sunday night, there were reasons for optimism for the Dolphins after a dominant victory in Atlanta, one that showed a new dimension of the offense and willingness by Mike McDaniel to change his stripes a bit. But the endorphins washed away about midway through the third quarter, and prior to that, only the scoreboard cast a positive light on the Dolphins’ chances against the Ravens. The Dolphins were moving the ball in the first half, and you can’t blame Tua Tagovailoa for two fumbles and some critical penalties, including a highly questionable call on Ollie Gordon II. But the offense imploded, with miscommunications, mistakes and missteps, and a ripe defense started to spoil after halftime. McDaniel’s future is once again in the crosshairs, with the Dolphins sitting at 2-7 and set to play in two marquee games -- home against their longtime tormentors, the Bills, and in Madrid against the Commanders. The future of the franchise is once again murky. (Editor's note: On Friday morning, the Dolphins mutually parted ways with longtime Chris Grier.)
- Ravens’ run game started slowly, but Henry broke the century mark. The Ravens went three-and-out on four of their first six drives of the game, with a Miami turnover glossing over some of Baltimore’s early issues. The run blocking was sluggish, with Patrick Ricard especially seeming to struggle to make blocks in the first half, which saw the Ravens run the ball 10 times for 13 yards. Derrick Henry had a 14-yard run -- which tied his longest run since Week 3 -- but the whole operation didn't really click until after halftime. It’s no coincidence that Lamar Jackson also looked more settled in by then, but Henry, who finished with 119 yards, also ripped off runs of 35, 19 and 13 yards to put the Dolphins to sleep. Once the Ravens had the lead, the defense and Henry took over. This is the formula the Ravens want to follow back to respectability.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Ravens-Dolphins (via NFL Pro): Derrick Henry hit a top speed of 20.86 mph on his 35-yard carry Thursday night.
NFL Research: Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews connected for two touchdowns Thursday night, the 11th time they’ve had multiple scores in the same game. The only QB-TE pairs with more such games are Tom Brady-Rob Gronkowski (19 games), Philip Rivers-Antonio Gates (16) and Drew Brees-Jimmy Graham (12). Andrews now has 12 multiple-TD games in his career, trailing only Gates (21), Gronkowski (20), Tony Gonzalez (18) and Graham (17) all time among tight ends.
