The Baltimore Ravens vs Miami

 

Lamar Jackson’s return turned out to be more of a nightmare than a joyful reunion. Baltimore headed into Miami with the second ranked offense, in the location where Jackson threw five touchdowns and helped the Ravens achieve 59 points just two years ago.

Worst Offensive Performance

Unfortunately, on this occasion, it turned out to be the worst performance from their offensive as the Ravens only scored 10 points; the least the team has achieved in any of Lamar Jackson’s career starts.

Lamar Jackson didn’t show much emotion other than frustration, because whilst the Ravens’ defense played well, the offense struggled from the start.

Miami Dolphins’ Tactics

The Dolphins are led by coach Brian Flores, who places a great amount of emphasis on the importance of defense. As a result of the pressure, the Ravens crumpled.

With heavy blitzes and a Cover Zero scheme, the Dolphins pressured Lamar Jackson and the Ravens until they couldn’t recover. In response, Lamar Jackson started throwing horizontally rather than downfield, which helped the Dolphins get off the field on third down.

Baltimore’s coaches stated that the team did not handle the Dolphins’ blitzes well, and as a result their game suffered for it.

Ravens’ Defense

The defense of the Ravens played well and limited the Dolphins to three third down conversions over thirteen attempts. This performance was even more impressive when you consider that Derek Wolfe, Marcus Peters, Brandon Williams and DeShon Elliott were all off with injuries.

Despite this, the defense must still take some of the blame for the loss. A troubling pattern of blown coverages allowed pass completions at both 64 and 52 yards. Both led to points for Miami.

A Saving Grace

One saving grace from the game for Baltimore fans – such as Brandon Glickstein – was watching Justin Houston go over 100 for his career, which is a huge achievement.

Fans also saw a Mark Andrews reception overturned, and Patrick Queen had a clear shot, only for Liam Eichenberg of the Dolphins to dive and secure the ball.

This loss to a non-contender has put extra pressure on the Ravens’ next game against the Chicago Bears.