NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
On a short week traveling down south, the Baltimore Ravens played flawless football against the Miami Dolphins, which ended in a 28-6 win for their second straight victory. Lamar Jackson returned to the field after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury. He went out there and played like the 2-time MVP he is, and the Ravens wait 10 days for their next matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Baltimore Ravens, after their win against the Chicago Bears last week, head down south to take on a struggling Miami Dolphins team. Ravens fans were excited this week as they saw the return of star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. And Lamar Jackson didn’t miss a single beat out there against Miami. As he went 18/23 for 204 passing yards and threw four touchdown passes, he threw the ball flawlessly. The other part of the two-headed monster of the offense, Derrick Henry, ran for 119 yards on 19 carries as Henry gets back to the ways of power running the football on the ground. But, stars of the offense besides Jackson and Henry in this game were the tight ends, as both Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar each caught a touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson in the game, as Andrews had two touchdown catches, and Kolar had one touchdown catch.
Another plus for the Ravens in this game was that not only the offense but also the defense played a great game. The defense held the opposing team to under 20 points for the 3rd straight game, as they limited the Miami Dolphins to only two field goals in the entire game and shut them out of the end zone. Also, the Ravens’ defense created three turnovers by recovering two fumbles and one interception by rookie Malaki Starks, who recorded his first NFL interception. And the other safety, Alohi Gilman, who was traded from the Chargers to the Ravens, continues to impress, as he was the one who recovered the fumble that led to the Ravens’ first touchdown of the game. The entire Ravens team played outstanding football on both sides of the ball, which led to this victory over the Dolphins. If they continue to play this way for the rest of the season, this team will be the one nobody wants to face come playoff time.
The Miami Dolphins continue their downward spiral after putting up 34 points last week against Atlanta. They were shut out of the end zone the entire game, as their only points of the game came on two Riley Patterson field goals. The Dolphins struggled throughout the game to convert on many 3rd downs, which ultimately led to their loss, as they went 2-12 on 3rd downs. And, having three turnovers in a game will always be a tough outcome for any team to win when you make mistakes like that in a game. Now, the Miami Dolphins have a ton of questions about the status of Head Coach Mike McDainel, who might’ve coached his last game as Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins, and this team doesn’t look like a team that is well coached at all. That could lead to significant changes for the future of the Miami Dolphins.
Coming into this game, the Baltimore Ravens knew that they needed to keep on winning if they had any chance of making the playoffs, and these last two games go a long way in doing that. And, when looking at their schedule, the Ravens have a favorable schedule to not only make the playoffs but to win the AFC north outright, and if this team can stay healthy going into November and December, then the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson, will be the team in the postseason that no one and i repeated no one wants to play come January. And now the Ravens head to Minnesota to take on Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10 next Sunday at 1:00 pm.
