Joe Flacco played like Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco again as he led the Ravens to a convincing and dominating 38-6 win over the Miami Dolphins in Baltimore on Sunday.
Flacco looked completely in control of the pocket for the first time since he went down with an ACL injury last November. He had decent pass-protection too for the first time in a long time. He was setting his feet and throwing into tight windows and open seams with abandon. He was going through downfield target progressions like a surgeon. It was remarkable to watch.
The Ravens combined a record-setting passing day by Joe Flacco with a rugged defensive effort.
“It was just a heck of a team victory,” hed coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s something that’s been in our minds, our vision of how we played today as a team. It’s what we’re working for, and it’s nice to see it happen.”
Flacco threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns, and the Ravens (7-5) made it apparent early that Miami’s six-game winning streak would not make it to seven. Baltimore built a 24-0 halftime lead behind the league’s second-ranked defense and Flacco, who went 27 for 34 for 258 yards and three scores in the half.
That was enough to provide the Ravens with their fourth win in five games and at least a share of first place in the AFC North. Flacco finished with a franchise-record 36 completions in 47 attempts, by far his most impressive outing in an uneven season. He entered with 11 TD passes and 10 interceptions.
“It feels good to throw four touchdown passes,” Flacco said, “but at the end of the day, what does it really matter? As long as we win, that’s what matters.”
Miami (7-5) didn’t score until Ryan Tannehill threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter following a fumble recovery that started the drive at the Baltimore 8. That made it 24-6, and Flacco answered with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman with 12:49 left.
Two of Flacco’s TD passes went to tight end Dennis Pitta, who’s enjoying a fine season in his return from a second hip surgery. Pitta had nine catches for 90 yards and leads Baltimore with 61 receptions, but he hadn’t reached the end zone since December 2013.
The Ravens scored a touchdown on their first possession for the second week in a row, moving 75 yards before Flacco connected with Terrance West for a 3-yard score. Unlike last week, when Baltimore managed just one TD in a win over Cincinnati, the Ravens immediately built on their early advantage. Following a missed field goal by the Dolphins, Flacco deftly took Baltimore downfield before throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Pitta.
The drive was extended by Kenneth Dixon‘s 10-yard run on a fourth-and-1.
Flacco capped an 18-play drive in the second quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Pitta. The methodical march took up 8 minutes, 57 seconds.
“This was not one of our best performances,” Miami head coach Adam Gase said. “You can’t waste opportunities early in the game, especially on offense. We had nothing that really jump-started us. We just couldn’t make any plays.”
“I thought Joe just played phenomenally well,” Harbaugh said. “Joe and the offensive line got the game balls in the locker room. I thought (Flacco’s) vision was phenomenal. He moved around and made plays on the run, guys made catch-and-run plays. It looked like we wanted it to look.”
Miami was limited to 62 yards rushing, its lowest output since gaining 51 in a loss to Tennessee on Oct. 9 — its last loss. Jay Ajayi was held to 61 yards on 12 carries.
The Ravens split the handoffs. Dixon gained 56 yards on six attempts and West had 10 carries for 50 yards, including a 9-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
INJURY UPDATE: Ravens CB Tavon Young (shoulder) left in the second quarter but returned after halftime. Dolphins’ LB Kiko Alonso (hand) missed part of the first half. … CB Tony Lippett was evaluated for a concussion and cleared in second quarter.
Next up for the Ravens: a Monday night game in New England against the Patriots.Final
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| BAL | 14 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Matchup |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 16 | 28 |
| Passing 1st downs | 11 | 20 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 3 | 8 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 2 | 0 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 4-13 | 5-11 |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Total Plays | 58 | 70 |
| Total Yards | 277 | 496 |
| Total Drives | 11 | 12 |
| Yards per Play | 4.8 | 7.1 |
| Passing | 215 | 386 |
| Comp-Att | 29-40 | 37-50 |
| Yards per pass | 5.1 | 7.7 |
| Interceptions thrown | 3 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 2-11 | 0-0 |
| Rushing | 62 | 110 |
| Rushing Attempts | 16 | 20 |
| Yards per rush | 3.9 | 5.5 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 1-2 | 4-4 |
| Penalties | 7-57 | 7-68 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 3 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 30:46 | 29:14 |
Baltimore Passing| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Flacco | 36/47 | 381 | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 0-0 | 94.3 | 119.2 |
| Ryan Mallett | 1/3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 49.6 | 42.4 |
| TEAM | 37/50 | 386 | 7.7 | 4 | 1 | 0-0 | — | 114.3 |
Baltimore Rushing| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Dixon | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 0 | 17 |
| Terrance West | 10 | 50 | 5.0 | 1 | 15 |
| Chris Moore | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Ryan Mallett | 3 | -3 | -1.0 | 0 | -1 |
| TEAM | 20 | 110 | 5.5 | 1 | 17 |
Baltimore Receiving| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Pitta | 9 | 90 | 10.0 | 2 | 25 | 11 |
| Breshad Perriman | 2 | 59 | 29.5 | 1 | 53 | 3 |
| Mike Wallace | 6 | 59 | 9.8 | 0 | 16 | 7 |
| Steve Smith Sr. | 6 | 53 | 8.8 | 0 | 23 | 10 |
| Kamar Aiken | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| Nick Boyle | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Kenneth Dixon | 4 | 21 | 5.3 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Terrance West | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Darren Waller | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Chris Moore | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TEAM | 37 | 386 | 10.4 | 4 | 53 | 48 |
Baltimore Defense| TACKLES | MISC | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | ||
| Zachary Orr | 13 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jimmy Smith | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jerraud Powers | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lardarius Webb | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shareece Wright | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eric Weddle | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tavon Young | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| C.J. Mosley | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Brent Urban | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Timmy Jernigan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Patrick Onwuasor | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Matt Judon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Steve Smith Sr. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Elvis Dumervil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Mike Wallace | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lawrence Guy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Matt Elam | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brandon Williams | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Terrance West | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Anthony Levine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Albert McClellan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Terrell Suggs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Za’Darius Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 55 | 43 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 0 | |
Baltimore Interceptions| INT | YDS | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Weddle | 1 | 53 | 0 |
| Jerraud Powers | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lardarius Webb | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 3 | 53 | 0 |
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