Dolphins film study: How Ravens shut down Miami’s offense, exploited injuries
In a clash of the AFC’s best last Sunday, the Dolphins struggled everywhere in a 56-19 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens on the road.
Despite a strong start for Miami’s offense, the unit struggled to finish drives and the defense had no answers for quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished the game with five touchdown passes and a perfect passer rating.
From an offense that fizzled after the first quarter to a defense that had a litany of uncharacteristic mistakes, here’s what went wrong for Miami.
Offense can’t capitalize
The first two series for the Dolphins’ offense couldn’t have been scripted any better. On Miami’s first play from scrimmage, rookie running back De’Von Achane took a screen pass 23 yards near midfield. Seven plays later, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa fit a pass to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. among multiple Ravens defenders for an 8-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
After Baltimore responded with its opening-drive touchdown, the Dolphins began their second possession with a pair of explosive plays. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill caught a 16-yard pass and then Achane took an outside toss 45 yards deep into the Ravens’ red zone.
But Hill dropped a touchdown wide open in the end zone on third down and Miami had to settle for a field goal. It would be one of the offense’s final fruitful drives as the game quickly got out of hand.
In the next nine drives, excluding the final end-of-game possession, the Dolphins reached Baltimore territory three times and the red zone twice.
The Ravens made quick adjustments to eliminate the screen passes that Miami had success with, and the Dolphins couldn’t get much downfield in their passing game against a short-handed secondary. Baltimore entered the game without a pair of starters, cornerback Brandon Stephens and safety Kyle Hamilton, and then had to play the majority of the game without corner Marlon Humphrey, who injured his calf in the first quarter. But Miami, playing without wide receiver Jaylen Waddle because of a high ankle sprain, only generated 221 passing yards, the fifth-lowest mark of the season.
Hill said after the game that the Dolphins’ offense tried to take advantage of the injuries in the secondary, but Baltimore played a lot of two-high safety looks to prevent big plays, especially after Humphrey was injured.
The Ravens played Cover 6, a zone coverage that mixes Cover 4 and Cover 2, on a season-high 34.1 percent of Tagovailoa’s dropbacks, according to TruMedia. The unique trait of Cover 6 is that it allows a defense to shade coverage toward one particular receiver on a side of the field without sacrificing resources on the other side. With Waddle out, the Ravens were able to place a lot of attention on Hill, and the Dolphins didn’t get much else downfield from their pass-catchers.
As Baltimore focused its efforts on guarding the middle of the field and limiting Hill, turnovers took away what could have been productive drives.
On Tagovailoa’s first interception, he noted that he stared down his intended receiver on a post route, allowing inside linebacker Roquan Smith to follow his eyes and track the ball. His second pick, which came one play after the Dolphins’ defense recovered a fumble, was a result of him forcing a pass to Hill into a tight window. Smith deflected the ball and safety Geno Stone intercepted it, preventing Miami from getting any points after a rare defensive stop.
“That was just a poor decision on my part trying to throw it over a [linebacker] to get that to Tyreek when I could’ve just checked the ball down,” Tagovailoa said.
Even if Waddle or running back Raheem Mostert can return to the lineup, Miami will once again have to find answers when teams pack the middle of the field. In the Dolphins’ first meeting with the Bills, a 48-20 loss, Buffalo ran Cover 2 on 30.8 percent of Miami’s dropbacks. It’s the greatest rate of Cover 2 the Bills have played in a game all season.
Defense allows big plays galore
The 491 yards the Dolphins’ allowed to the Ravens was the most they have given up all season.
In coach Mike McDaniel’s first comments after the game, he pointed to poor tackling as a common thread. And the Dolphins’ 13 missed tackles were a season-high, according to Pro Football Focus. But Miami’s defense also allowed an atypical number of big plays to Baltimore’s offense.
Miami allowed an explosive play on 20 percent of the Ravens’ plays, the greatest rate the defense has allowed all season. Entering the game, the Dolphins were allowing an explosive play rate of 8.9 percent, tied for the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
Baltimore specifically targeted players that were filling in for starters. The Ravens found man coverage matchups with inside linebacker Duke Riley that they exploited, including a 20-yard touchdown pass on their opening possession. And one of the biggest plays of the game, wide receiver Zay Flowers’ 75-yard touchdown catch, came on a busted coverage between Riley and cornerback Eli Apple, who was filling in for Xavien Howard after he left because of a foot injury.
“There was jet motion coming to my side and I already had a responsibility on the receiver before he came to my zone,” Apple said. “So I was just trying to buy time for Duke and he probably thought I was going to take his guy and I kind of was expecting him to stay on. So, I don’t know, just got to communicate before the snap and clean that up.”
With a Buffalo offense that has had great success against the Dolphins in recent years, Miami will have to avoid the chunk gains they allowed so often in Baltimore. The second-greatest rate of explosive plays the team has given up this season came in the first meeting with Buffalo — and the Dolphins’ defense will be missing at least three starters for the winner-take-all matchup on Sunday.
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 3:58 PM.
