Lamar Jackson returns in style as Ravens rout Dolphins

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — If there had been any 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 past 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 once again celebrated in South Florida, where he grew up. Of Jackson’s 13 games with four or more touchdown passes, three have come against the Dolphins — his most against any team.

In winning their second game in five days, the Ravens improved to 3-5 and appear set to go on a run. Baltimore’s next four opponents — at the Vikings and Browns and home against the Jets and Bengals — are a combined 9-22 (.290). The Ravens are now 1.5 games back of the AFC North first-place Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3), who play host to the Indianapolis Colts (7-1) on Sunday.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

What to make of the QB performance: There was uncertainty about how much Jackson would run coming off a hamstring injury. He had only five rushing attempts, but his 13-yard scramble in the third quarter converted a third down to extend what would be a touchdown drive. Jackson was elusive in the pocket and threw three TD passes under duress, the most by a quarterback this season.

Trend to watch: The Ravens held a team to 17 points or fewer in three straight games, tying the longest streak by any team this season. This is quite a turnaround for a defense that had been heavily criticized after allowing an NFL-worst 35.4 points per game in the first five weeks of the season. It can be chalked up to the unit getting healthier and not having to face the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff as they did in the first month of the season. With two forced fumbles and an interception, the Ravens recorded their most turnovers since they had three in their last meeting against the Dolphins in 2023.

Stat to know: Tight end Mark Andrews certainly enjoyed Jackson’s return, catching touchdown passes of 2 and 20 yards in the first half. This was Andrews’ 12th career game with multiple touchdown catches, the most by any tight end since he entered the league in 2018. Andrews has caught 48 touchdown passes in Jackson’s 90 starts and has totaled five TD receptions in 21 games when Jackson was sidelined. — Jamison Hensley

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

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

The Dolphins outgained Baltimore in the first half, winning the time-of-possession battle, averaging nearly 6 yards per play and holding a Lamar Jackson-led offense to 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 set up 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 set up Baltimore’s first touchdown. There was also the one that wasn’t their fault — a questionable tripping call on running back Ollie Gordon II that wiped out a 36-yard catch.

The frustration on the sideline wasn’t just palpable — it was filmed in high definition. Coach Mike McDaniel and Gordon were shown mid-outburst in the first half, all while the Ravens looked like the team destined to turn around their sub-.500 start to the season. Miami enters a 10-day mini-bye before hosting the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 and traveling to Madrid to play the Washington Commanders in Week 11. With the trade deadline coming Tuesday and a 2-7 record weighing down any optimism for this season, it’s reasonable to wonder how different this roster — or coaching staff — will look the next time Miami takes the field.

QB breakdown: One week after carving up the Falcons’ league-leading pass defense for four touchdowns, Tua Tagovailoa came down to earth against Baltimore.

His connection with receiver Jaylen Waddle looked sharp in the first half, and Tagovailoa showed a burgeoning chemistry with tight end Greg Dulcich. But Miami struggled to stretch the field outside of Waddle, and the Ravens largely kept the ball in front of them. Tagovailoa got the ball out quickly but struggled when his first read wasn’t there. On pass attempts within 2.5 seconds of snapping the ball, Tagovailoa completed 18-of-25 passes for 209 yards; on attempts that took longer than 2.5 seconds, he completed just 7-of-14 passes for 52 yards and an interception with a -16.8% completion percentage over expectation.

Biggest hole in game plan: The Dolphins ran the ball 37 times in last week’s win over the Falcons; obviously, the game script impacted the playcalling Thursday, but Miami ran the ball 20 times against the Ravens with De’Von Achane handling 14 of those attempts. Before the game got out of control, the Dolphins failed to set the tone at the line of scrimmage as they did in Week 9, turned the ball over three times without taking it away, and came away empty-handed in three red zone trips. That’s a nearly guaranteed recipe for losing.

Most surprising performance: All of it. Miami turned in a complete effort last week in what players and coaches called one of the best complementary games under McDaniel. They spoke all week about staying consistent and not allowing that win to be a one-off. But all three phases fell flat Thursday. Miami didn’t look like a team ready to turn the corner; 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 appeared to give 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 Mike Green, though it appeared that the running back slipped and accidentally fell into the Ravens linebacker. The Dolphins punted two plays later, and Gordon was seen irate on the sideline. Miami managed to cut its deficit to 14-6 on its following drive but failed to convert on fourth down from the Ravens’ 13-yard line just before the half. The Dolphins looked lifeless after that and failed to put points on the board for the remainder of the night. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

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