The Baltimore Ravens disappointed on Thursday Night Football, losing to the host Miami Dolphins 22-10. Entering the contest as 8.5 point favorites, the Ravens’ offense sputtered. With the defeat, the Ravens drop to 6-3 on the season, half a game in front of the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) and a full game ahead of the Cleveland Browns (5-4) and Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) in the competitive AFC North.
Here are our Ravens Week 10 takeaways
Ravens Week 10 Takeaways
1. Defense continues to let up big plays
Baltimore’s defense played fairly well for most of the evening, keeping the game competitive while the offense looked lifeless. However, the Ravens fell victim to multiple chunk plays—which has been a problem all season long.
The Ravens surrendered five big plays—gains of 20+ yards by the opposition—in Thursday’s loss. The Dolphins set up their first score of the contest, a field goal, after Dolphins QB Jacoby Brissett completed a 21-yard third-down pass to tight end Adam Shaheen, who looked like he was boxing out Ravens safety Chuck Clark.
Miami set up its set second field goal with a 52-yard strike from Brissett to wide receiver Isaiah Ford late in the second quarter. The Dolphins took a 6-3 lead entering halftime.
Late in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins leading 15-10, Tua Tagovailoa (who entered the contest after Brissett hurt his knee) hit a wide open Albert Wilson for a 64-yard completion.
The Ravens clearly had a defensive miscommunication and it cost them dearly. Tagovailoa finished the drive off with a 1-yard rush TD, the ultimate dagger.
2. Ravens start slow again
Another troubling theme of the 2021 Ravens has been their slow starts in contests. However, the Ravens have managed to overcome second-half double-digit deficits in three of their wins this season—home victories against the Chiefs, Colts and, most recently, the Vikings last week.
This time, however, the Ravens did not have the offensive firepower to come from behind. The Ravens did not score their first touchdown until 4:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, a TD pass from Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews.
Jackson has played MVP-caliber football all year long, bailing out the Ravens on multiple occasions. But he can’t be relied on every week to engineer a multiple-score comeback.
3. Sammy Watkins’ return a disaster
Ravens veteran wide receiver Sammy Watkins returned to the lineup after missing three contests with a thigh injury. Things did not go as planned, to say the least, for the wideout. Watkins had just one catch for seven yards. On his lone reception, Watkins had the ball stripped after making the grab and his fumble was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard.
The turnover by Watkins proved to be the turning point in a disastrous offensive showing by the Ravens. Watkins’ fumble was not his only miscue, though. In the first quarter, Watkins curiously stopped running his route on a potential touchdown pass thrown by Jackson. As Watkins got closer to the back of the end zone, he slowed down, as the catchable ball landed right in front of him.
At the time of the play, the Ravens were up 3-0. In fact, they looked as if they were about to score on each of their first two drives of the contest, having kicked a field goal on the game’s opening drive. However, Watkins slowed down and the Ravens were forced to settle for a field goal attempt—a rare miss by Ravens legend Justin Tucker. With Watkins’ blunder and Tucker’s missed kick, the Ravens’ advantage stayed at 3-0. They would not score again until late in the fourth quarter.
Watkins saw just two targets on the night and both were memorable in the worst ways possible—a missed TD opportunity and a fumble returned for a score by the defense.
Watkins could see his playing time reduced if he struggles like this again, especially since rookie Rashod Bateman has flashed his potential in recent weeks. Bateman led the Ravens in receiving with 80 yards, catching six of eight targets. Over his last three games, Bateman has registered 14 grabs for 212 yards.