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Lamar Jackson’s return to the Baltimore Ravens couldn’t have gone much better. The former MVP threw four touchdown passes to lead a 28-6 rout of the Miami Dolphins on “Thursday Night Football.”
Jackson had missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, watching from the sidelines as Baltimore slid into a rut. After last week’s win moved the Ravens to 2-6, head coach John Harbaugh confirmed Jackson would be back for Week 9 – and he delivered.
While he didn’t test that hamstring too much with his usual Houdini scrambling act, Jackson’s arm wanted to let loose, having been dormant for a month.
It came in the first quarter after the Ravens’ defense forced a fumble on Tahj Washington that put Baltimore on Miami’s seven-yard line. After Derrick Henry attempted to get in twice and failed, Jackson rolled out on fourth-and-goal and found his trusty tight end Mark Andrews to make it a 7-3 ballgame.
Then, after a missed Dolphins field goal, Jackson led the way on a seven-play, 75-yard drive where Andrews was open yet again, this time catching and running 20 yards into the end zone for a 14-3 Ravens lead.
RAVENS’ LAMAR JACKSON REVEALS REASONIING FOR STRIPPING LOCKER ROOM OF VIDEO GAMES, PING-PONG TABLES
Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa was hearing a shower of boos that only got louder with each quarter as the Dolphins struggled to find the colored paint. In fact, they didn’t do it throughout the night despite reaching the red zone five times.
With a 14-6 first half lead, Jackson and the Ravens decided to blow this game open with a methodically, 11-play drive that ended with a Charlie Kolar touchdown. The Dolphins were only able to run seven total plays in the third quarter, and Jackson found Rashod Bateman for his fourth touchdown pass of the contest as even more jeers rained down from the Hard Rock Stadium crowd.
They reached a peak in the fourth quarter when a 12-play Dolphins drive ended with a Malik Washington fumble in the red zone, while Tagovailoa was intercepted by rookie Malachi Starks to seal the game.
In the box score, Jackson was 18-of-23 for 204 yards with his four touchdowns, while rushing for just 15 yards. Henry, though, rushed for 119 yards on 19 carries, while Zay Flowers caught five Jackson passes for 64 yards.
For Miami, Tagovailoa was 25-for-40 for 261 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. De’Von Achane, the Dolphins’ dynamic running back, rushed for 67 yards and caught six passes for 39 yards. Jaylen Waddle led the game with 82 yards on six receptions.
The Ravens know they need to extend this win streak to reach their playoff goals after a 1-6 start to the season, and that’s exactly what they got in Jackson’s return.
On the other hand, the Dolphins still have a lot to figure out after a promising win over the Atlanta Falcons last week.
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