Report Card: Ravens Earn Mixed Grades in Win Over Miami

The Ravens entered half time with a somewhat-fraudulent lead of 14-6, thanks heavily to a remarkably-stunning series of mishaps by the dysfunctional Dolphins. The only thought at the time was, “A win is a win is a win is a win…”

Things got better in a dominant third quarter, and the Ravens used some big plays in the run game, a memorable return of their star quarterback and an opportunistic defense to slam the door on a Dolphins team that were most accommodating hosts for this Thursday night clash.

Let’s look at some grades.

Offense Overall: B

It was an inconsistent evening for the most part on this side of the ball, but they were better in the second half than the first, a perfect 3-3 in the red zone, did not turn the ball over and used their run game to lock down the game at the end. Oh, and Lamar Jackson returned with four touchdowns in his arm, and his usual highlight-reel at the ready. The two drives to open the second half that pushed the lead to 28-6 were dominant, and they did enough in the rest of their possessions in terms of flipping field position and draining clock to earn the win.

It wasn’t perfect, but there was enough to make you feel good going forward.

Quarterback: A

I was leaning to a solid B at half time. He short-armed that throw to Rashod Bateman on third down to go three-and-out the first drive, and I felt like he looked generally uncomfortable in the pocket at times. But he still had flashes, like the escape-and-throw to Isaiah Likely for 35, and that beautiful touch on the second touchdown pass to Mark Andrews. He looked more like himself in the second half, and converted a big third-and-six with his legs in that first series of the second half that ended with the touchdown pass to Charlie Kolar. He also fired a missile across the middle to Likely on that drive, and had a gorgeous pass to Zay Flowers for 39.

That early discomfort in the pocket? He looked just fine with buying time in the pocket and finding Bateman for his final touchdown pass. He finished 18-23 for 204 yards, along with those four touchdowns.

Running Backs: B+

Derrick Henry seemed to get better as the game went on, and that is exactly as the Ravens want it. He ran for 119 yards on 19 carries, after only picking up 30 on nine first-half carries. His second half wasn’t only prolific, it was filled with game-changing plays. His 35-yard run in the third quarter showcased both his power and athleticism as he bounced an inside run outside and sprinted down the sideline. He took that ball at the Baltimore 15 and flipped field position immediately. Later, he had a 19-yard run from the Baltimore 10 that changed things around in a game the Ravens were trying to control. Keaton Mitchell didn’t have any explosive runs, but he did get a few carries and had a 7-yard catch. Justice Hill had a great catch-and-run for nine that showed his explosiveness. Patrick Ricard got pushed back on a second-quarter play that ended in a sack.

Receivers: B

The tight ends had a resurgence, with Andrews securing those two touchdowns, Kolar another and Likely picking up 60 yards on three catches. Flowers had 64 yards on five catches, and nearly had a touchdown on his 39-yarder. Bateman worked free against man coverage on his touchdown catch, and had a penalty for yelling at an official on a play he thought he was held.

Offensive Line: C+

I thought this unit got better as the game went on, and you get the sense the run game is very close to clicking into high gear. But, let’s not forget that first half. The Dolphins were living on the Ravens’ side of the line, and Jackson seemed to be feeling pressure on any pass that was more than a three-step drop. Ronnie Stanley got shoved backwards by Chop Robinson on an early play, and it just seemed like the unit lost reps more often than not. But there was improvement in the second half. Tyler Linderbaum and Daniel Faalele both threw nice blocks on Hill’s screen, and there were some alleys for Henry. Andrew Vorhees struggled again at points to mount any push.

Defense Overall: B

Like a lot of the team, this unit played better in the second half than the first. The fact that Miami had only six points in that half, as De’Von Achane was making the Ravens’ front seven look slow, while Jaylen Waddle was doing the same to the secondary, was fortunate, to say the least. They had a huge play in the first quarter with a fumble, got lucky when the Dolphins had a false start on a fourth-and-one before missing a field goal, and a phantom flag against the Dolphins on a huge play by Waddle saved the Ravens another time. But they were pretty good in the second half, held Miami to 2-12 on third downs, 0-3 in the red zone and forced three turnovers.

Defensive Line: C+

Travis Jones looked active all night and finished with five tackles, half a sack and a tackle for loss. He also blew up the Miami interior on a Roquan Smith run stuff late in the first half. He combined with Brent Urban on his sack. John Jenkins destroyed a couple inside runs, and Kyle Van Noy had a heads-up play where he might have had a hand in forcing the Miami player to false start on their aborted fourth-down attempt. Mike Green and David Ojabo were gifted a shared sack on a poor Hail Mary attempt to close the first half. They made some plays. They also gave up the edges way too easy in the first half and continue to have a hard time getting pressure.

Linebackers: A

Roquan Smith and Teddye Buchanan have bagged back-to-back strong performances. Smith had nine solo tackles among his 12 total, freed himself off a block on a third-down screen in the second quarter to tackle Achane in the open field and broke up a pass he should have picked off easily. Buchanan forced a pair of fumbles, and both were huge — the first was in Miami territory and set up a Ravens touchdown, and the second came in the red zone in the fourth quarter. He had eight tackles. He did get beat down the sideline for a big pass in the fourth quarter, but replay overturned the catch — so, hey. No harm, no foul.

Defensive Backs: B

Kyle Hamilton was tremendous again, and it’s clear the Ravens’ defense is far better when he can disrupt things in myriad ways. He had six tackles, one for a smothering loss on a run in the first quarter. He also completely stoned Achane on his route on a failed fourth-quarter pass. Malakai Starks had maybe his best game, even before his impressive interception when he got on top of the Miami receiver and did a nice job bringing in the ball. Starks had a good open-field tackle on Achane on the opening drive, and then the stop on third down to force a field goal. He also broke in hard on a receiver to force a third-down incompletion in the third quarter. Nate Wiggins had a PI in the fourth quarter for coming through a receiver’s back, and got pinned in on an outside run, but he was good in coverage. Marlon Humphrey had a nice game, with six tackles, a broken-up pass in the first quarter and a fumble recovery. Alohi Gilman recovered the other fumble, and had four tackles, but he missed one or two early in the game.

Special Teams: B-

They gave up a 35-yard punt return in the second quarter, and a penalty on Keondre Jackson gave Miami the ball at the Ravens’ 29, gifting the Dolphins their second field goal. Jackson had another flag on a punt return in the third quarter, but did shine early when he downed a punt at the Miami 4, and then had a vicious hit on a kick return. Tyler Loop had a bad kickoff to start the game when the Dolphins returner caught it on a dead run and took it to midfield, and missed the landing zone on another. Loop did make all four of his extra points. Jordan Stout continued his career year, averaging 56 yards on six punts and dropping four of them inside the 20. His lone touchback came on a 64-yarder that nearly checked up, too. LaJohntay Wester had another exciting punt return, this one for 17. He will house one this season. He has looked close a couple times.

Coaching: B+

I liked the strategy with easing Jackson back into game conditions, continuing to pound the ball with Henry and mixing in Mitchell and Hill to keep things interesting. We did get two more tush-pushes with Andrews, which are ulcer-inducing, to say the least. The defense seemed to tighten things up as the game progressed, and they are doing a good job utilizing Hamilton and Humphrey, along with trying different ways to create pressure. There are still some big holes in the zones sometimes, but that’s kind of the nature of zones. As for the challenge: I hated it at the time. Just seemed like a tantrum at the big play. But it was reversed, and control of the ball was definitely lost. So, I was wrong.

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