Baltimore vs Miami
Baltimore Allows 28 Points in Fourth Quarter to Spoil Home-Opener in Loss to Miami
Through seven quarters, the 2022 Baltimore Ravens season was showing lots of promise.
And since it’s only through two weeks, it still may be a fruitful campaign, but life in the NFL shows that this loss to the Miami Dolphins will probably sting for a while.
Leading 35-14 going into the fourth quarter, the Ravens (1-1) allowed the Dolphins (2-0) to score 28 points in the final period for a 42-38 loss that sent the fans in a sold-out M&T Bank Stadium home in stunned silence in what had been a joyous home opener for much of the sunny afternoon.
“We have to own it, every single person,” head coach John Harbaugh said after the game. “I told the guys in the locker room, 'How we respond to this, that will be the story.' We have a 17-game season, this is the second week of the season. What we do from here on out, everyone taking a hard look at what we did; coaches, players, everyone. Calls that we made, plays that we made, plays that we didn't make, and let's come out of here a better football team for it.”
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The fourth-quarter meltdown spoiled what was one of the best games of Lamar Jackson’s career. The 2019 NFL MVP was 21-of-29 for 318 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, and he ran for another 119 yards and a touchdown. It was his 11th game with more than 100 yards rushing, which is an NFL record for quarterbacks, but predictably, Jackson didn’t want to talk about individual accolades.
“That record doesn't mean anything if we're not winning,” Jackson said. “We've got to stay on the field and keep doing what we were doing at the beginning. They didn't make any crazy changes on the defense; we've just got to execute and move the ball.”
Baltimore held Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and potent wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in check for the first three quarters, but the third-year QB threw four touchdowns (three to the aforementioned duo) in the final quarter against a gassed Ravens defense.
Tagovailoa ended up with 469 passing yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions. He led the Dolphins to 233 yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone, tossing four TDs. Hill, paying immediate dividends after coming over in a trade from Kansas City this offseason, had 11 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Waddle also had 11 grabs and two touchdowns, accounting for 171 yards.
Defensive leader Calais Campbell continued the trend of taking ownership for the loss, which is the mark of a veteran team.
“You have to tip your hat off to them; they made the plays, but when you watch the tape, there's going to be a lot of stuff to clean up,” the defensive end said. “We made mistakes, and we have to own it. That's just part of the game. It's part of the early part of the season, but no excuses. We have to wear that one. It sucks, but they beat us.”
In addition to keeping Miami in check for three quarters, Marcus Williams pulled down two interceptions on the day. Wide receiver Devin Duvernay also had a 103-yard kick return for a touchdown, and Justin Tucker connected on his only field-goal attempt for the day—a 51-yarder that briefly gave the Ravens the lead at 38-35 with 2:18 remaining.
Offensively, tight end Mark Andrews had another terrific day, hauling in nine passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Rashod Bateman had 108 yards on four grabs, including a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jackson. And Jackson himself had a big play, running for a 79-yard score late in the third quarter to put Baltimore on top 35-14.
GAME RECAP
Baltimore was rolling right away after Duvernay returned the opening kickoff for the 103-yard score, which was the first of many big scoring plays by the Ravens.
The Dolphins were driving into Ravens’ territory on their opening possession, but Williams picked off a pass intended for Hill to end the threat.
At the end of the first quarter, the Ravens had a 4th and goal situation from the Dolphins’ 1-yard line, but a failed snap led to a turnover, which proved costly given the final score.
Two plays later, Tagovailoa found Waddle for a 59-yard gain to put Miami in business, and they scored four plays later when the same duo connected for a six-yard touchdown to tie the game.
It only took one play, however, for Baltimore to respond. Jackson completed a pass over the middle to Bateman, and he did the rest of the work with his legs, out-running the defense for 75 yards to put the Ravens back ahead 14-7.
After a Miami punt, Jackson threw another touchdown pass—this time a one-yarder to Andrews—to make it 21-7, and he wasn’t done; Jackson had his third TD pass of the half when he found Demarcus Robinson from 12 yards out to make it 28-7 Baltimore at halftime.
After Miami opened the second half with a touchdown, Jackson took off for his 79-yard career-long touchdown run to make it 35-14 after three quarters.
Three straight Miami touchdowns in the fourth tied the game at 35. It looked like Tucker might end up with another fourth-quarter winner, drilling home a 51-yarder with just over two minutes remaining.
Tagovailoa only needed six plays, however, to score once again, finding Waddle from seven yards out to take the lead for the first time all day with 14 seconds remaining. Jackson had one last shot at an answer, firing up a ball into the end zone from midfield, but the pass fell incomplete.
UP NEXT
The Ravens head back on the road next week to face a familiar foe in New England. Counting the playoffs, this will be the ninth meeting between the two teams in the past decade. The Patriots are at 1-1 after a 17-14 win at Pittsburgh in Week 2.