Lamar Jackson returns in style as Ravens rout Dolphins

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – When in doubt, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson made sure the football world knew he was back.

In his first game in 32 days, Jackson threw four touchdown passes in a 28-6 win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player had missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, but he didn’t show much rust in his return.

Jackson completed 18 of 23 attempts for 204 yards as he celebrated once again in South Florida, where he grew up. Of Jackson’s 13 games with four or more touchdown passes, three of them came against the Dolphins – his most against any team.

By winning their second game in five days, the Ravens improved their record to 3-5 and appear poised for a playoff run. Baltimore’s next four opponents – against the Vikings and Browns and at home against the Jets and Bengals – have a combined record of 9-22 (.290). The Ravens are now 1.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3), who host the Indianapolis Colts (7-1) on Sunday.

Here are the most important things to know starting Monday night for both teams:

What to think of the QB’s performance: There was a question about how much Jackson would run following a hamstring injury. He had only five rushing attempts, but his 13-yard run in the third quarter converted a third down to extend what would be a touchdown. Jackson was elusive in the pocket and threw three touchdown passes under duress, which is the most for a quarterback this season.

Trend to watch: The Ravens have held a team to less than 17 points in three straight games, which ties the longest steak of any team this season. It’s quite a turnaround for a Baltimore defense that had been heavily criticized after allowing an NFL-worst 35.4 points per game through the first five weeks of the season. This can be attributed to the Ravens defense becoming healthier and not having to deal with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff, which they did in the first month of the season. With two forced fumbles and an interception, the Ravens recorded their most turnovers since having three in their last meeting against the Dolphins in 2023.

Stat to know: Andrews certainly enjoyed Jackson’s return, catching touchdown passes of 2 and 20 yards in the first half. It was Andrews’ 12th career multi-touchdown game, marking the most touchdowns since entering the league in 2018. Andrews caught 48 touchdown passes in Jackson’s 90 starts and totaled five touchdown receptions in 21 games when Jackson was sidelined. — Jamison Hensley

Next game: at Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m. ET, November 9)

Even if Thursday night was the first Dolphins game you watched all season, don’t worry, you’ve seen them all.

The Dolphins outscored Baltimore in the first half, won the possession battle, averaged nearly 6 yards per play and held a Lamar Jackson-led offense to just 109 yards — but still trailed 14-6 at halftime thanks to a series of all-too-characteristic miscues.

There were the ones that were their fault: a false start on fourth-and-1 that allowed a missed 35-yard field goal, an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2 from deep in the red zone, and a lost fumble on their own 18 that allowed Baltimore to score the first touchdown of the night. There was also one that wasn’t their fault — a questionable snap on running back Ollie Gordon II that wiped out a 36-yard catch.

The frustration on the ground was not only palpable: it was filmed in high definition. Coaches Mike McDaniel and Gordon were shown in the middle of a first-half blowout, while the Ravens looked like the team destined to turn around their sub-.500 start to the season. Miami now enters a 10-day mini-bye before hosting the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 and traveling to Madrid to face the Washington Commanders in Week 11. With the trade deadline Tuesday and a 2-7 record weighing on any optimism for this season, it’s reasonable to wonder how different this roster – or this coaching staff – will be the next time Miami takes the field.

QB breakdown: A week after carving up the Falcons’ league-leading pass defense for 4 touchdowns, Tua Tagovailoa came back down to earth a bit against Baltimore. His connection with receiver Jaylen Waddle looked strong in the first half, and he showed budding chemistry with tight end Greg Dulcich. But Miami struggled to expand the field outside of Waddle and the Ravens largely kept the ball in front of them. Tagovailoa got the ball quickly, but struggled when his first read wasn’t there. On pass attempts within 2.5 seconds of catching the ball, Tagovailoa completed 17 of 23 passes for 197 yards. On attempts that lasted longer than 2.5 seconds, he completed just 5 of 11 passes for 35 yards with a completion percentage of -23.2% compared to expectations. He finished 25 of 40 for 261 yards with no touchdowns or picks.

The biggest hole in the game plan: The Dolphins ran the ball 37 times in last week’s win over the Falcons; Obviously, the game script impacted his play Thursday night, but Miami threw the ball 20 times against the Ravens, with De’Von Achane handling 14 of those attempts. Before the game got out of hand, the Dolphins failed to set the tone at the line of scrimmage like they did in Week 9, turned the ball over three times without taking it away and came away empty-handed on three trips to the red zone. This is an almost guaranteed recipe for losing a game.

Most surprising performance: All of this. Miami put together a complete effort last week in what players and coaches called one of their best complementary games under McDaniel. They talked all week about staying consistent and not allowing this win to be a one-off. But all three phases fell flat on Thursday. Miami didn’t look like a team ready to take the next step; it looked like a 2-7 team.

Turning point: On second-and-1 early in the second quarter, Tagovailoa found Waddle for a 36-yard gain that gave Miami the ball at the Ravens’ 7-yard line — but any celebration was cut short by a flag in the backfield. Gordon was penalized for tripping Ravens linebacker Mike Green, but he appeared to slip and accidentally fall into Green. The Dolphins punted two plays later and Gordon was seen angry on the sideline. Miami was able to cut its deficit to 14-6 on its next drive, but failed to convert on fourth down at the Ravens’ 13-yard line just before halftime. The Dolphins felt lifeless after that and failed to score any points for the rest of the night. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

Next game: vs. Buffalo Bills (1 p.m. ET, November 9)