Quarterback: A-
Lamar Jackson took some time to get into a rhythm in his first game back. Jackson and the offense played groggy for much of the first half and Jackson appeared hesitant in the pocket. A switch flipped coming out of halftime, though. Jackson’s mobility was activated, and he began making decisive throws both on and off script. He completed nine straight passes in the third quarter and led two impressive scoring drives that both resulted in touchdown throws. Jackson had zero turnover worthy plays and completed an efficient 18-of-23 passes with 204 yards through the air and four touchdowns on the night. He got more comfortable as the game progressed and overall put forth a clean, efficient performance in his first game in over a month.
Running Back: B-
The Ravens didn’t have a ton of success running the ball in the first half. Derrick Henry was stood up in short-yardage situations multiple times, which has been a recurring issue this season, where space and lanes up front were non-existent. In the second half, Henry ripped off a 35-yard run to inflate his rushing total and then had several other long rushes to follow as the third and fourth quarters progressed. He grinded his way to 119 yards on 19 carries. Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill combined for only four attempts and 10 rushing yards.
Tight End: B+
From a receiving standpoint, this was most productive game of the year from the Ravens’ tight end unit as a collective group. Isaiah Likely had a season-high in both catches () and receiving yards (), highlighted by a key 35-yard catch on third down to set up a touchdown in the first half. Mark Andrews, meanwhile, had two catches that both went for scores and Charlie Kolar caught a three-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Kolar has now found the end zone in back-to-back games. They didn’t appear to get much push consistently in the run game, particularly on a couple instances where Pat Ricard was uncharacteristically overpowered one-on-one.
Wide Receiver: C+
The tight ends did much of the team’s receiving damage, but Zay Flowers still managed to finish as the leading individual receiver with 64 yards on five catches and five targets. 39 of Flowers’ yards came on one long reception in the third quarter that nearly went for a touchdown. Rashod Bateman also had a touchdown catch but only had 13 yards in total on two receptions. Bateman was targeted on a third down pass earlier in the game where he slowed up on the route and argued for a holding penalty with the official, which resulted in him receiving a 15-yard flag himself for unsportsmanlike conduct. Deandre Hopkins had no catches on one target, and Tylan Wallace was a non-factor in the passing game.
Offensive Line: C+
After showing some improvement last week, the Ravens’ offensive line had another rocky performance on Thursday night. In the first half, the Ravens struggled to get push in the run game, particularly in short yardage situations. They were stood up on multiple one-yard conversion attempts where the Dolphins’ defensive line won across the board. The offensive line did a better job in pass protection, but still the Ravens would surely like to see more physical wins up front from their five-man group.
Defensive Line: B-
Early in the game, the Dolphins appeared to be winning the trench battle against Baltimore’s defensive front as they were able to generate some long runs and move the ball. The Ravens tightened up against the run, though, and ultimately held the Dolphins to only 87 total rushing yards on 20 carries. 22 of those yards came on one long run, too. Travis Jones had his best statistical game of the season with a half-sack, quarterback hit, and tackle-for-loss, while veteran Brent Urban also had a half-sack and two quarterback hits.
Edge Rusher: B-
The Ravens once again had only three edge rushers activated. They’re supplementing some edge snaps by bringing Kyle Hamilton to the line of scrimmage as an extra pass-rusher, which has helped in recent weeks. Mike Green had a half-sack, Kyle Van Noy had a tackle-for-loss, and David Ojabo recorded a half-sack as well and quarterback hit. Tua Tagovailoa had ample time to throw on a number of occasions but the Ravens also got a decent amount of pressure. When they pressured him and flushed him outside of the pocket, it worked in their favor.
Linebacker: B+
For the second straight week, Roquan Smith produced 12+ tackles and made impactful plays in his return from injury. Smith had a pass breakup and looks more comfortable now than he did to begin the season. Teddye Buchanan had eight tackles and his first career forced fumble, when he stripped the ball loose from a Dolphins’ wide receiver in the fourth quarter. Buchanan nearly had another forced fumble in the same fashion earlier in the game, too. The Ravens ceded some passes over the middle of the field and struggled to contain De’Von Achane at times in space, but the linebackers did a solid job keeping the action in front of them for the most part.
Cornerback: B
The Ravens’ cornerbacks were not challenged a ton by Miami’s wide receivers aside from Jaylen Waddle. Waddle was targeted nine times and caught six passes for 84 yards. He was able to break some catches loose for yards after catch and had a long reception of 24 yards. The rest of the Dolphins’ wideouts didn’t do a ton of damage on the night. Marlon Humphrey had two pass breakups and six total tackles. Nate Wiggins was flagged for a defensive pass interference in the fourth quarter, but it meant little with the game already out of reach.
The Ravens again featured all three safeties together for most of the game and it paid dividends. Hamilton was active all around the line of scrimmage and made several strong plays on the ball. He finished with six tackles and one tackle-for-loss, but his impact was evident beyond the box score. Alohi Gilman made one of the biggest plays of the game with a forced fumble and recovery in the first quarter. Gilman ripped the ball away from Malik Washington and quickly fell on it in bounds, before then returning it 11 yards to set the Ravens up just seven yards away from the end zone. Malaki Starks added five solo tackles and then recorded his first career interception on a deep pass attempt in the fourth quarter, where he made a great play on the ball.
Special Teams: B+
The Ravens gave up some extra yardage on return coverage that they’d probably like to have back. At the same time, though, they got solid return yards of their own. Jordan Stout’s career-best season at punter continued. He was busy with six total punts that went for 336 yards, good for an average of 56 yards per punt. Four of Stout’s punts landed inside the 20 and he had a long punt of 64 yards. Tyler Loop made four extra points with no field goal attempts.