The Dolphins-Ravens Week 2 Five Biggest Storylines ... And How They Played Out
The Miami Dolphins improved to 2-0 on the season with their magical 42-38 victory against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Before the game, we broke down the five biggest storylines for this matchup, so now it's time to see how those played out:
1. Can the Dolphins Shut Down Jackson Again?
BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins put on a clinic last November in how to attack dynamic Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, sending a constant barrage of blitzes that left him frustrated but more significantly ineffective. Jackson told Baltimore media this week that the Ravens were caught off guard by that approach and will be better equipped to handle it this time — if that's what the Dolphins end up doing. While it would make sense for the Dolphins to go again with the all-out blitzes, throwing a change-up also could produce the desired results.
DURING THE GAME: Yeah, that would be a big fat no. For all of Tua Tagovailoa's brilliance on the day, Jackson actually finished with a better passer rating with a 142.6 and then he had a 79-yard touchdown that gave the Ravens their seemingly insurmountable 35-14 lead late in the third quarter. The Dolphins didn't blitz as much on this day as they did last year and when they did they weren't effective with it.
2. How Well Can the Offensive Line Perform?
BEFORE THE GAME: This is a pretty familiar Dolphins question, isn't it? After an uneven start to the 2022 season, the Dolphins now have injury issues on the offensive line with right tackle Austin Jackson out for at least four games (on IR) with an ankle injury and left tackle Terron Armstead operating at less than 100 percent with a toe injury, though the fact the Dolphins will go into Sunday with eight O-linemen on the active roster would seem to be encouraging in terms of his availability. The offensive line was going to face a tough challenge regardless against a stout Baltimore front seven, but now this will becoming even more of a tough task.
DURING THE GAME: The line actually played one of its best games in recent memory, as it gave Tagovailoa great pass protection throughout except for one possession in the second quarter. The run blocking also was pretty solid. Armstead was able to start and play the whole game, which obviously was huge for the Dolphins, and then Greg Little did a really good job starting at right tackle where he went unnoticed — always a good sign for an offensive lineman.
3. Will Tyreek Be the Main Target Again?
BEFORE THE GAME: It was probably no great surprise that Tyreek Hill dominated the Dolphins in terms of targets in the opener, with the ball thrown in his direction five of the first seven pass plays and 12 times overall — seven times more than anybody else on the team. While there will come a time when an opposing defense does whatever is necessary to take him out of the game, it's fair to expect him to be the main guy heading into any game and that certainly applies to this matchup.
DURING THE GAME: Not surprisingly, Hill again was a huge factor for the Dolphins with his two long touchdown catches in the fourth quarter, but it was Jaylen Waddle who was the main target on this day. The game-winning touchdown catch came on his 19th target of the game, with both he and Hill catching 11 passes. Together, Waddle (19) and Hill (13) combined for more than half of the targets on Tua's 50 pass attempts.
4. Tua and the Deep Passes
BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins defeated the Ravens last season, mostly because of their dominating defensive performance but also because of three long passes that set up 13 points. Tua Tagovailoa delivered two of those passes — 64 yards to Albert Wilson and 35 yards to Jaylen Waddle — and being able to connect certainly would be helpful Sunday. More importantly, the storyline here — as it might be through most of the season — is seeing what kind of progress the third-year quarterback makes from week to week. While the Baltimore pass rush could be a problem, it's worth noting that the Ravens' top four cornerbacks are dealing with some kind of injury.
DURING THE GAME: Yeah, about seeing what kind of progress the third-year quarterback can make from week to week, we'd say that was pretty significant progress we saw in Baltimore. And the deep pass was a big part of it. And again the Dolphins took advantage of some porous secondary play, as Hill easily ran by Marcus Peters on his 48-yard touchdown with rookie Kyle Hamilton way too slow to come over and then was left all alone on his 60-yard touchdown after running by rookie cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, who thought he had safety help on the play. In all, Tua had four completions of 30 yards or longer in the game, though the other two were more of the catch-and-run variety.
5. Can the Dolphins Win the Special Teams Battle?
BEFORE THE GAME: A massively underrated factor in the victory against New England in Week 1 was the borderline-brilliant performance of punter Thomas Morstead, not to mention Jason Sanders making two field goal attempts from beyond 40 yards. In Baltimore, the Dolphins will face a team that's usually among the best in the NFL on special teams. This game also will feature maybe the best kicker in the NFL in Justin Tucker against the best kicker in the NFL in 2020 looking to regain his form after a sub-par 2021 performance in Jason Sanders.
DURING THE GAME: After giving up a kickoff return for touchdown to start the game, it was going to be awfully hard for the Dolphins to win this particular battle. As it turned out, that was the only play of consequence on special teams all game because the Dolphins made Justin Tucker's clutch 51-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter irrelevant with their game-winning touchdown drive.
