MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins are surging. OK, perhaps that’s going too far. Sunday’s 34-10 win over Atlanta only counts as one win in the standings. But it was a much-needed victory and a convincing victory.
If the the Dolphins (2-6) can repeat that showing Thursday night against Baltimore (2-5), perhaps it’ll open the door for a similar bounce back to last season when they started 2-6 and finished 6-3 for an 8-9 record.
However, let’s take this one step at a time. Baltimore is a worrisome opponent.
Here are five things to watch for in Thursday’s game between the Dolphins and Ravens:
Generating a rushing offense
The Dolphins rushed for 141 yards against Atlanta and did so while utilizing three running backs — De’Von Achane, Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright — to contribute to the successful effort. No back rushed for a big yardage total (Achane led the way with 67 yards on 18 carries) but the run game did a few things — it made life easier for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it helped the Dolphins have a good play-calling combination (37 runs and 27 passes), and it led to the Dolphins almost doubling the Falcons in time of possession (37:58 to 22:02).
Using guard Daniel Brunskill as the sixth offensive lineman/tight end also helped the run game. If the Dolphins can repeat those things it should help tremendously on Thursday.
Stopping Lamar Jackson
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is the one that makes the Ravens offense go. Jackson, the two-time MVP and Boynton Beach High alum, is making a homecoming of sorts in this game at Hard Rock Stadium. And he’s having a great season. Although he’s been restricted to four games due to knee and hamstring injuries, he has a NFL-best 130.5 passer rating to go along with 10 touchdowns and one interception.
He’s also averaging 9.1 yards per pass attempt, which is tied for first in the league, and completing 76.1 percent of his passes, which ranks fourth. The Dolphins must find a way to limit his effectiveness, and most likely that comes through lots of pressure on dropbacks, good coverage on the back end, and corralling him so he can’t run for big gains.
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Controlling Derrick Henry
Ravens running back Derrick Henry, a bruiser at 6 foot 2, 252 pounds, is 12th in the league in rushing at 510 yards. He’s averaging a punishing 4.7 yards per carry. The Dolphins’ run defense, which held Atlanta to 45 yards rushing, improved to 28th in the league from 32nd (last) and now allows 145.0 yards per game. But clearly this could be a bad matchup for the Dolphins. The Dolphins must keep the ball out of Henry’s hands and gang tackle, such as they did against Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson. Henry’s 109 rushing attempts are tied for 11th in the league, a relatively low total considering his effectiveness. One way the Dolphins can keep the ball away from Henry is by taking an early lead and forcing the Ravens to pass. Other than that, they need to be tough and be sure tacklers.
Defending homefield
The Dolphins are 19-9 (.679) in the McDaniel era. Winning at Hard Rock Stadium is one of the things they have done consistently well. Granted, the Dolphins are 1-2 at home this season, losing to New England and the Los Angeles Chargers while defeating the New York Jets. But Baltimore is off to a disappointing 2-5 start and the Ravens are 0-2 on the road. Yes, their road losses are against Buffalo (41-40) and Kansas City (37-20), but perhaps the Dolphins can conjure up some magic.
By the way, the Dolphins are 0-3 on Thursday night in the McDaniel era, but all three games — Cincinnati (2022), Buffalo (2024) and Green Bay (2024) — were road games.
Tackling the ball carrier, reducing penalties
The Dolphins did a good job against Atlanta of tackling the ball carrier instead of trying to punch out the ball and causing a fumble. Consequently, the Dolphins did a much better job of reducing the effectiveness of the Falcons’ running backs, tight ends and wide receivers. In previous games there was a focus on creating turnovers. But when you consider the Dolphins only won the turnover battle, 1-0, Sunday but still recorded a 24-point victory, you see what’s more important.
Also, the Dolphins only had four penalties for 54 yards against Atlanta. The big one was the 39-yard pass interference penalty against cornerback Rasul Douglas. The Dolphins have a small margin for error when you consider they’re without wide receiver Tyreek Hill (season-ending knee injury), tight end Darren Waller (pectoral) and cornerbacks Kader Kohou (season-ending knee), Storm Duck (season-ending knee) and Jason Marshall Jr. (hamstring), and could be without safety Ashtyn Davis (quad).
Making good tackles and playing a clean game will be two major keys to coming away with a victory against Baltimore.
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