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Upon Further Review: More Takeaways from Dolphins' Loss to Baltimore

The Miami Dolphins dropped another game Thursday, and the film isn't pretty.
Dante Collinelli|
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws downfield during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws downfield during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins suffered yet another blowout loss Thursday, falling 28-6 to the Baltimore Ravens at home. 

It was an incredibly frustrating game, as Miami moved the ball at will in the first half but couldn’t execute in Ravens territory and had to settle for six points. The defense was tremendous in the first half, but broke a bit in the second half, while the offense’s wheels came off completely. 

The tape tells the tale of a team that is limited by personnel, poorly coached, and can’t get out of its own way. Let’s dive into a few themes from the Dolphins’ latest loss. 

Failure to Convert Money Downs on Offense 

Miami finished the game 4 of 15 on third and fourth down, including 2 of 12 on third down. In the first half, the Dolphins had three crucial money downs that they failed to execute on, and it cost them points. 

Let’s start with the most frustrating of the bunch, the fourth-and-2 at Baltimore’s 13-yard line. 

Miami is down by eight at this point and is averaging 6.8 yards per play at this point. The Ravens show Cover-0, which means it’s man coverage across the board with no safety help at the top. 

The Dolphins have five wide receivers, which means Tua Tagovailoa is hot — he’s responsible for the free runner because Miami doesn’t have enough blockers. None of this is uncommon on downs like this. 

With it being Cover-0, that usually means the QB picks a 1-on-1 matchup before the snap and throws that with trust after the snap. Tua’s selection on this play is a head-scratcher. 

He targets 5-9 RB De’Von Achane against 6-4 Kyle Hamilton, who is arguably the best safety in the entire sport. That is an unserious decision by the quarterback. 

Now, that brings us to the play design and head coach Mike McDaniel. Getting Achane on a fade route — an incredibly low-percentage play, regardless of matchup — is just not a good process. 

The concept at the bottom of the screen with Jaylen Waddle and Malik Washington is a whole lot of nothing. Waddle is running a skinny post, something you won’t get to if the QB is hot. Washington does get some space sitting in behind Waddle’s route, so there’s at least some merit there. 

The other routes at the top of the screen aren’t ideal either, as Nick Westbrook-Ikhine’s spacing on the out route with Greg Dulcich isn’t ideal. 

From design to execution, this play was a dud. McDaniel called the play a miscommunication — a frustrating theme under his watch.

The second money-down miss was the third-and-6 on the team’s first drive. Again, Miami was moving the ball effortlessly, but couldn’t convert on a critical down. 

While many were upset with the run call, the larger issue is the type of run call. If you’re going to run on third-and-6, that’s fine if you’re willing to go for it on fourth-and-3 or so. Teams set those up all the time. 

But running 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a sweep play, with Tanner Conner as the lead perimeter blocker, is not smart. Right tackle Larry Borom can’t reach the nine-tech end, while Washington and Conner make zero impact on the interior. 

Achane takes the handoff behind the shotgun formation, meaning he ends up needing to run roughly 11 yards to pick up the first down. This process just doesn’t make much sense, even if we acknowledge that the execution wasn’t great. 

The third play was Borom’s false start on a fourth-and-1 in the second quarter. We’d show the video of that, but it’s not worth it because it’s literally just a false start. 

Miami missed a field goal on the following play, meaning between that and the fourth down we discussed earlier, the Dolphins had two 10-play drives deep in Ravens territory that resulted in zero points. 

The team basically lost the game there, and it’s the result of root issues that have been present under McDaniel’s watch for years. 

Defensive Limitations 

Miami’s defense played pretty well in the first half, as it took advantage of Lamar Jackson looking like a player who hadn’t played in a month. 

However, after watching the tape, it was pretty clear that the Dolphins’ defense was less “playing well” and more “holding on.” The Dolphins sold out to stop Derrick Henry from beating them. 

And while his final numbers look fine, most of those yards came in garbage time. Miami accomplished this by stacking the box. It had eight or more defenders in the box on 19 of the Ravens’ 31 rushing attempts. 

Stopping Henry this way is smart, and, frankly, the Ravens force defenses into those looks quite a bit with their personnel groupings. They use a lot of two-tight end and jumbo sets, mandating the defense matches with its own bigger personnel. 

Once that happens, Baltimore carves teams up with play-action throws to the middle of the field. This play is a great example. 

The Ravens have two tight ends, and put Jackson under center — you couldn’t telegraph a running play harder if you tried. Watch both of Miami’s linebackers take multiple steps up before Jackson puts a ball right between them to his tight end. 

Jackson’s third touchdown was another excellent play-action pass. This time on the goal line, Baltimore calls the classic RB flat play. It used a similar concept on the first touchdown of the game. 

But this time, Charlie Kolar runs a leak route across the formation, tricking Miami’s linebackers. Watch Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson. They’re right on top of each other, and nobody is on Kolar. 

Here’s another one from the second half. Ravens come out with a condensed set with Jackson under center and a fullback in the I-formation. The run action pulls the linebackers in, and Jackson zips the ball right by Dodson’s ear hole. 

Also, watch Dodson turn around after the ball goes right by him. It looks like he thinks Jackson still has the ball and might throw it to the flat — just a super weird reaction. 

The most frustrating part about all of this is that there is no easy solution for Miami. It wasn’t a banner night for Brooks and Dodson in coverage, but it’s hard to blame them. They can’t not respect Baltimore’s rush looks, and it was clear the emphasis from the coaching staff was on stopping Henry. 

Plus, Baltimore is one of the best teams in the league at putting opposing teams in exactly this bind. Henry’s existence has just made that even tougher in recent seasons. 

Simply put, Miami just doesn’t have the horses to take away Henry and the Ravens’ play-action game. 

Few teams do, but better defenses have more room for error to get creative. Miami’s run defense has been gashed so much this season that it’s hard to blame Anthony Weaver for just trying to win that battle and letting the chips fall where they may elsewhere. 

The Dolphins’ defense played hard, and it kept its team in the game for a while, but it’s clear on film that Baltimore had everything it wanted once Jackson shook off some of the rust. 

Quick-Hitting Positives 

The Dolphins did a few neat things on film, at least worth mentioning. 

  • The six-OL package with Daniel Brunskill still has plenty of juice. Miami got an explosive pass and rush out of that package. 
  • Greg Dulcich and Hayden Rucci should take over all tight end duties until Julian Hill and/or Darren Waller return. Rucci’s limited run-block snaps are solid, and Dulcich is clearly a better receiver than Tanner Conner. 
  • Rasul Douglas continues to play well in coverage and run defense. 

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Dante Collinelli
DANTE COLLINELLI

Dante currently serves as the deputy editor of Dolphins on SI, where he’s been contributing since 2022. He began his career covering the NFL Draft for Blue Chip Scouting and spent four years covering the Temple University Football team. For the past three years, Dante served as the Deputy Editor for The 33rd Team, working with former players, coaches, and general managers, while building a team of NFL writers.

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