Welcome back, Lamar Jackson.
The two-time league MVP returned from a hamstring injury as the Baltimore Ravens routed the Miami Dolphins on the road 28-6 to open Week 9 on Thursday Night Football.
Miami started with a field goal and forced a punt, but then fumbled in dangerous territory to set up an easy seven points for Baltimore. From there, the game predictably went downhill for Miami.
The Dolphins responded with a missed field goal as Jackson eventually took control, tossing touchdowns to his tight ends to put the game out of reach.
Baltimore is now 3-5 on the season with renewed hope from Jackson’s return. Only four teams who started 1-5 went on to make the playoffs, essentially a 1% chance. But the Ravens could see that number rise down the line given their schedule.
As for Miami, it is now 2-7 with a home matchup against the Buffalo Bills next after a few extra days of rest. A 2-8 mark is a real possibility.
Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers:
WINNER: Lamar Jackson, Ravens
There’s no denying the aura of Jackson when he suits up. The Ravens looked like a completely different team on both sides of the ball, which wasn’t the case over the last few weeks.
Jackson ended the game completing 18 of 23 passes for 204 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. He kept it simple but threw darts when needed, combining with Mark Andrews twice in the end zone, among others.
A healthy Jackson changes the landscape of both the AFC North and the conference as a whole.
LOSER: Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins
On the opposite side, it was more of the same from Miami’s QB1.
Tua Tagovailoa completed 25 of 40 passes for 261 yards, no touchdowns and a pick. He made some decent throws on occasion, but once again his cons outweighed his pros.
The Dolphins could look for a head-coaching change to see if things may change with Tagovailoa, but the outlook isn’t so promising.
WINNER: Forcing turnovers
Baltimore may not have needed to force turnovers to beat Miami, but it certainly helped. Whereas Baltimore didn’t cough up the ball once, Miami did on three separate occasions.
The first was the costly Tahj Washington fumble that set up Baltimore nicely to take the lead.
Then Malik Washington fumbled before Malaki Starks intercepted Tagovailoa. The latter two happened with the game essentially sealed, but it’ll give confidence to a Ravens defense that sorely needed it.
LOSER: Mike McDaniel, Dolphins
Every Dolphins loss makes you question: “Is this McDaniel’s last?”
The 42-year-old head coach just hasn’t been able to make it work with Miami and Tagovailoa, injuries aside. It would be easier for Miami to cut ties with the head coach rather than its highly paid QB that teams won’t jump the gun to trade for, so it’ll be interesting to see how long McDaniel lasts.
With the Bills next week and the Washington Commanders in Spain the week after, Miami needs to make a decision on its future sooner rather than regret waiting.
WINNER: Ravens’ playoff chances
The Ravens are now 3-5, tied for second in the AFC North with the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals. The Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh Steelers are 4-3. When looking at Baltimore’s schedule, there’s a good chance it can be above .500 soon.
The next few weeks for Baltimore will see it at Minnesota and Cleveland before returning home to face the New York Jets and Cincinnati. Then it will host the Steelers in their first matchup this season.
Baltimore can’t afford too many slip ups given the 1-5 start, but there’s a clear pathway to the postseason if John Harbaugh and Co. capitalize.
Here are five things to know about Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
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