Miami Dolphins: 10 observations from Week 2 win vs. Ravens

The Miami Dolphins will be on the lips of the collective sports media this coming week. Here are my ten observations from Sunday’s game in Baltimore.

What a game by Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. After a Week 1 victory that did little to change the narrative on what the third-year quarterback can be, he came out and got some serious weight off of his back by having the more stellar performance of his career.

Tagovailoa overcame a mediocre start by leading the Dolphins to an improbable 21-point fourth-quarter comeback victory and had a stat line for the ages. He finished the game with 469 yards passing and 6 touchdowns, including the game-winner to Jaylen Waddle with less than 30 seconds left.

Tua will be the talk of the team and perhaps the league this coming week, but it took a full team effort in order to be able to pull off the victory. It was a tale of two halves, as Miami dug themselves into a pretty serious hole through the first two quarters and much of the third, but had one of the most impressive final frames that you’ll see from any team on any Sunday.

Here are ten quick observations from the huge win by the Miami Dolphins over the Baltimore Ravens:

1. Goal line and 4th down stands by defense prove huge

Already up 7-0, the Ravens had an 18-play, 74-yard drive that ate up nearly 11 minutes off of the clock in the first quarter, and made it all the way down to Miami’s one-yard line. An impressive goal-line stand and a costly mistake by Lamar Jackson kept Baltimore from scoring and taking a commanding 14-0 lead, something that could have sucked the momentum away from the Dolphins early in the game.

The defensive front came up huge in the fourth quarter, as well. The Ravens were up 35-21 with just over 9 minutes left to play and faced a 4th and 1 from the Dolphins’ 40-yard line that would have helped tremendously in sealing the game away for Baltimore. Instead, Miami stuffed the Lamar Jackson QB keeper, giving the ball back to their offense, who would score a touchdown less than a minute and a half later.