Is it time to purchase into the Tua Tagovailoa hype on this new-look Miami Dolphins offense but?
What began as one other story of the Dolphins dealing with torment in Baltimore changed into an exhilarating comeback the place Tagovailoa threw for 469 yards and 6 touchdowns, each profession highs and the landing mark tying a franchise report.
The Dolphins got here again from down three touchdowns within the fourth quarter to beat the Ravens, 42-38, on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.
“I was really hoping that we would get some adversity in this game, and I want to see how we would respond to a deficit, and apparently, they just took me way too literal,” stated Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel.
“I just challenged them to say, ‘Who cares what the score is?’ It’s about how we play football together.”
The Dolphins (2-0) received in Baltimore for the primary time since 1997, snapping a four-game dropping streak there. McDaniel is the primary Miami coach to start out his tenure 2-0 since Jimmy Johnson in 1996.
Tagovailoa’s six passing touchdowns have solely beforehand finished by a Dolphin twice: Bob Griese (1977, at St. Louis Cardinals) and Dan Marino (1986, at New York Jets). He was 36 of fifty on Sunday. Four of his landing passes got here within the fourth quarter as Miami outscored Baltimore (1-1), 28-3, in that last interval.
“We were executing on all cylinders offensively,” Tagovailoa stated. “And then, when there were times when we didn’t execute, no one panicked.”
Tagovailoa’s prime two targets, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, mixed for 361 receiving yards — Hill with 190 and Waddle with 171. Each had 11 receptions and two landing catches — the game-winner with 14 seconds left going to Waddle.
Tagovailoa, who improved to 8-1 vs. Super Bowl-winning coaches with the win over Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, outdueled Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson after Jackson’s effectiveness dealing with Miami’s blitz-heavy defensive method seemed to be the story for a lot of the day.
Jackson seemed nearer to how he did within the 2019 opener towards Miami, when he threw for 5 touchdowns in a 59-10 mauling, than he did in final 12 months’s Dolphins upset after they attacked him with an unremitting blitz. The Pompano Beach native and Boynton Beach High grad had an ideal passer ranking of 158.3 till late within the recreation. He completed passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns to completely different receivers — tight finish Mark Andrews and wideouts Rashod Bateman and Demarcus Robinson. Jackson added 119 yards on the bottom for his eleventh profession 100-yard speeding efficiency, an NFL report for a quarterback.
The last dagger amongst Tagovailoa’s 4 fourth-quarter touchdowns was a 7-yard strike to Waddle with 14 seconds left. A 28-yard Chase Edmonds run set the Dolphins up on the 7-yard line within the last seconds. All Jackson had left to do on the ultimate play was throw a Hail Mary to the top zone, which fell incomplete.
“I ain’t got to say too much,” stated Hill about Tagovailoa after an offseason of unrelenting help for his new signal-caller after asking for a commerce from the Kansas City Chiefs to Miami this offseason. “All people got to do is just look at the film of just Tua and who he is and how consistent he is. That last drive that we had, it really showed who he was as a leader.”
Down 35-14 to start out the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa first drove 75 yards in seven performs, capping the drive by hitting vast receiver River Cracraft from 2 yards out for the practice-squad elevation’s first profession landing reception.
Hill was out momentarily, coping with cramps, however as soon as he returned, he scored lengthy touchdowns on back-to-back drives. First, he went deep center for a 48-yard landing excessive of the protection. Then, he flew by Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis for a 60-yard rating.
Miami tied Baltimore, 35-35, with 5:19 remaining.
The Ravens answered because the dependable Justin Tucker knocked by way of a 51-yard discipline purpose with 2:18 remaining earlier than the Dolphins had the final chortle.
“[McDaniel] is always going to say this, and this is kind of like the mindset for our team: Adversity is opportunity,” Tagovailoa stated. “And that’s how we look at it.”
The Dolphins began down in a landing gap instantly Sunday when Devin Duvernay, an All-Pro return specialist, took the opening kickoff 103 yards for a landing 13 seconds into the motion.
The Ravens appeared primed to increase their early lead with an 18-play, 72-yard possession that took up 10:53, however they got here up empty on the time-consuming drive. Jackson mishandled a snap on fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line, and the fumble was recovered by Baltimore for a turnover on downs. Jackson appeared to attempt to transfer ahead with the ball for a sneak earlier than he absolutely managed the snap.
Starting at their very own 6-yard line, the Dolphins rapidly maneuvered 94 yards to tie the Ravens, 7-7, thanks largely to Tagovailoa’s reference to Waddle. He hit him as soon as for a move over the center that went for 59 yards after Waddle’s run after catch after which once more for a 6-yard landing on a display.
That landing was scored with 10:54 left within the second quarter. The Ravens answered on the 10:44 mark. The very first play of the following drive, Jackson discovered Bateman open slicing in towards Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard with no security to cease Bateman over the center after Baltimore’s pre-snap movement.
Baltimore, after fumbling earlier, took benefit of its subsequent alternative on the 1-yard line. Jackson tossed a straightforward move to Andrews after their 25-yard reference to Andrews beating cornerback Keion Crossen acquired the Ravens down close to the purpose line on a play that was initially referred to as a landing however overturned upon evaluate.
Before halftime, Jackson drove the Ravens 80 yards in six performs over 51 seconds, linking with Robinson for a 12-yard landing.
A 15-yard landing connection between Tagovailoa and tight finish Mike Gesicki inched the Dolphins to inside two scores in the midst of the third quarter, however Jackson reeled off his 79-yard speeding landing late within the third to drag Baltimore again forward by three touchdowns earlier than the fourth-quarter comeback.
“This is one of my favorite wins of my entire career,” stated linebacker Duke Riley. “You were in someone else’s home. You are down by that much in someone else’s place, things usually don’t come back and play like that.”
Miami’s first possession resulted in an interception as security Marcus Williams tipped a Tagovailoa move meant for Hill after which got here up with the ball from his again. Williams intercepted Tagovailoa once more late within the first half, dragging his toes inbounds alongside the sideline.
The Dolphins return residence in Week 3 to host the Buffalo Bills in a divisional matchup.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com