The first half of Miami's 28-6 primetime loss to the Baltimore Ravens looked a lot like the blowout win Sunday in Atlanta, at least on the stat sheet. The Dolphins hit chunk plays in both the run and pass game and limited quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry to a sluggish first half.
As is the case in most NFL games, however, the scoreboard reflected a few key plays. Those plays, nearly across the board, went in favor of the visitors.
1. Another big night for Achane
Before the scoreboard dictated a shift in the offensive gameplan, the Dolphins were hammering the Ravens on the ground, primarily through star running back De'Von Achane. For just the third time this season, he didn't score a touchdown, but he posted 106 yards from scrimmage in a first half in which the Dolphins gained 242 total yards.
The second half was a different story as Miami compiled just 90 yards after the break. Achane had a 21-yard reception overturned on a Ravens challenge, reducing his second-half total to just four yards from scrimmage.
2. Self-inflicted wounds
Despite the dominant first half in which the Miami defense held the Ravens to four first downs, 30 rushing yards, and one third down conversion out of six attempts, the scoreboard still favored the visiting Ravens.
The Dolphins put together a pair of 10-play drives, one totaling 57 yards and another 67. Yet, neither possession produced points as Miami missed a field goal following a false start with the offense on the field on fourth-and-1. That led to a kick that sailed wide right by Riley Patterson.
The Dolphins found themselves back in the red zone on a fourth-and-2 play, but quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's pass sailed over Achane.
"It's always dangerous when you are 'theoretically' beating a team and you don't have a lead. Or it's very dangerous just because it ebbs and flows in the National Football League, Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. "Basically, there was a multitude of failures in a critical situation on that one and I was super confident that that wouldn't be the case, otherwise I wouldn't have taken that risk. But a failure to execute a look that I think we can resulted in no points, and that's a gigantic momentum swing."
Miami committed three turnovers in the game, two fumbles and an interception, to lose the turnover battle for the sixth time in nine games this season.
3. Waddle! Waddle!
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has been one of the game's top receivers across the stat sheet since position mate Tyreek Hill was lost for the season with a knee injury. Waddle ranks second among all wide receivers in EPA per target since Week 5 and was well on his way to another 100-yard game before a tripping penalty wiped away a 37-yard reception.
Still, Waddle had six catches for 82 yards. In five weeks as Miami's top receiver Waddle has 410 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His 586 yards on the season ranks seventh in the NFL in receiving entering the weekend.
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