Jordyn Brooks has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal 2-7 start for the Miami Dolphins.
Brooks was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week this week following his 10-tackle, one-sack performance last Sunday in a victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
But all of that positive momentum whittled away in less than a week after Thursday night’s disappointing 28-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
And after the game, it’s clear the frustration is growing even among the most respected players in the Dolphins’ locker room.
“Even though the score was what it was (at halftime), we felt like we were playing well enough to win the game,” Brooks said. “But at the end of the day, it’s always going to come down to turnovers. Giving them the ball when they shouldn’t have it. Not scoring when we should it changes the momentum. It changes the game. It changes the spirit. Until we learn how not to beat ourselves, we’re not going to win the football game.”
Brooks’ frustration stems from the fact the Dolphins appeared to outplay the Ravens in the first half, and yet found themselves down 14-6 at halftime.
The Dolphins outgained Baltimore 225 to 109 in total yards, had 10 first downs to only four for the Ravens and possessed the ball for 18:59 to only 11:01 for Baltimore.
But several costly mistakes on offense rendered all of Miami’s one-sided statistics irrelevant as Brooks pointed out.
And it squandered Miami’s possible opening to secure its second consecutive victory before Baltimore and returning starting quarterback Lamar Jackson ignited their own offense in the second half.
The Dolphins offense made three red zone trips in the game and came up with zero points in those opportunities. They moved into Baltimore territory two other times and mustered only a pair of Riley Patterson field goals.
It was the second time in the past three games the Dolphins did not score a touchdown and were held to six points. It was the third game this season they were held to under 10 points.
After taking an early 3-0 lead and forcing the Ravens to punt on their opening series, Tahj Washington fumbled after a catch and Baltimore’s Alohi Gilman scooped it up and returned it to Miami’s 7, setting up Jackson’s first touchdown pass to Mark Andrews.
Baltimore never trailed again.
“Turnovers. We’ve gotta capitalize when we get into the red zone,” said Brooks, who sits next to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the locker room. “We had too many turnovers today and that’s what hurt us.”
On the Dolphins’ ensuing drive, they meant to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens’ 12. That was until right tackle Larry Borom jumped offside. Patterson then missed a 35-yard field goal. The Ravens extended their lead to 14-3 on their ensuing series on Jackson’s second touchdown toss to Andrews.
Trailing 14-6 just before halftime, another red zone chance came up empty when on 4th-and-2 from the Baltimore 13, Tagovailoa overthrew a well-covered De’Von Achane in the end zone. Tagovailoa did not throw a touchdown pass just four days after throwing a season-high four against the Falcons.
While Jackson did evenly throw two touchdown passes in each half of the game, he threw for 115 of his 204 passing yards in the second half. Derrick Henry also ran for 89 of his 119 yards in the second half, and the Ravens totaled 229 yards over the final two periods.
“I thought (Jackson) had a decent game but a lot of it came at the end when the game was out of reach, in garbage time to be honest,” Brooks said. “I thought we played well defensively, but turnovers, that kills you. Not capitalizing, not scoring when we could. Giving them the ball back, giving them an extra set of downs. Players like that, they’re going to find a way to get in the end zone. We have to capitalize when we have a chance and play complimentary football.”