The Ravens completely crushed the Dolphins in a, let’s just say chippy, game. Kiko Alonso’s “should he have been ejected or not?” hit on Joe Flacco knocked the Ravens quarterback out of the game with a concussion. That led to a scuffle. Late in the game, Ndamukong Suh grabbed Flacco’s backup, Ryan Mallett, by the neck.
But at least we got to see a cat on the field!
Final score: Ravens 40, Dolphins 0
Fourth quarter
Ravens 40, Dolphins 0 The Ravens score another defensive touchdown. This time, a pick-six by Jimmy Smith.
Ravens 32, Dolphins 0 The Ravens extended their already massive lead with an offensive fumble recovery in the end zone by Chris Moore.
Raven 26, Dolphins 0 The Ravens’ defense added another touchdown with a pick-six by C.J. Mosley:
This reaction from Dolphins head coach Adam Gase says it all.
Halftime
Ravens 20, Dolphins 0 Ryan Mallett replaced Flacco and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson.
Scary situation late in the second quarter. Flacco took off on a scramble and slid for the first down, only to get brutally knocked out by Kiki Alonso. Flacco headed to the locker room after the hit. The Ravens and Dolphins got in a scuffle on the field as Flacco headed to the medical tent, obviously going in the concussion protocol.
Mat Moore finally put together a couple of good passes to get the Dolphins in scoring range, but the drive stalled and Cody Parkey missed a 50-yard field goal, keeping Miami off the board.
Ravens 13, Dolphins 0 Tucker hit a 48-yard field goal to extend the Ravens’ lead some more.
Nick Boyle had the second-most exciting play of the game (behind Maclin’s touchdown) with this neat hurdle.
Things haven’t been going great for the Dolphins so far.
Dolphins offense:
— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) October 27, 2017
5 plays -> Punt
3 plays -> Punt
3 plays -> Punt
6 plays -> Punt
3 plays -> Punt
Ravens 10, Dolphins 0 The Ravens’ run game started coming alive behind Alex Collins and Javoriovs Allen, leading to them settling for a 55-yard field goal from Justin Tucker.
First quarter: Ravens 7, Dolphins 0
The Dolphins’ offense is badly stagnant right now. After ripping off a 21-yard gain on his first carry, Jay Ajayi had just 3 yards combined on his next six carries.
Ravens 7, Dolphins 0 After a slow beginning of the game, Flacco opened things up by corking a perfect dime to Maclin for the 34-yard touchdown. Miami’s defense got flagged for 12 men on the field and were still burnt on this play.
Jeremy Maclin, making his return from a shoulder injury, was Flacco’s first two targets on the night. Both teams traded punts to start the game.
Before the game
The Dolphins will be without their starting quarterback after Jay Cutler fell victim to a pair of cracked ribs in Week 7. Fortunately for Miami, its offense will remain in steady hands when the team travels to Baltimore for Thursday Night Football. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NFL Network and CBS (live stream).
Veteran backup Matt Moore saved the Dolphins last Sunday, leading them back from a 14-point deficit for a last-minute 31-28 victory over the Jets. Miami can prove it’s for real by handing a tough Ravens team a defeat on the road in primetime.
Pregame reading:
- Miami’s win over the Jets was beautiful and ugly and weird, all at the same time.
New York, tanking poorly at 3-3, had traveled south to face the NFL’s least-impressive winning team — a Miami club led by Jay Cutler and a passing attack that averaged just 5.1 yards per pass. Despite their limitations, the Jets and Dolphins crafted one of the most entertaining games Week 7 had to offer.
- If you’re a gambler, Baltimore’s meaningless last-minute touchdown in Minnesota either broke you or made you extremely happy.
Obviously, this blog post exists because the touchdown was not meaningless. It brought the total number of points scored in the game to 39. The betting total for the game was 37.5 points, and the touchdown as time expired busted it. The PAT made it 40, and that was actually meaningless.
- Kenny Stills is amazing, no matter who is throwing him the ball.
- The Dolphins didn’t want to lose Jay Cutler, but they aren’t screwed by their quarterback’s injury like some teams are (cough cough Cardinals).
But it’s entirely possible Miami is better off with Moore at the helm. At the least, it’s hard to imagine the offense getting any worse.
After the first six weeks of the season, the Dolphins were No. 32 in yards and points per game. The team has mostly been carried by a defense that is allowing fewer than 20 points per game.
Can Matt Moore remain productive against a non-Jets defense?
Moore’s play in 2016 and 2017 has proven he can beat up bad teams. He’s beaten the Jets twice and the Bills once but led Miami to just 26 combined points against the Patriots and Steelers — two playoff teams last season. Baltimore isn’t quite up to Pittsburgh or New England’s standard, but the Ravens still field a solid pass defense that has held opponents to fewer than 190 yards passing per game.