Pressure Point: Dolphins must regroup from painful loss to battle Bills for AFC East title

A crappy New Year’s Eve in Baltimore left the Miami Dolphins staggering with a throbbing hangover.

The vision of the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC was swept away in a 56-19 embarrassment against the runaway Ravens.

Granted, all was not lost for Miami. The division title is still there for the taking with a season-ending showdown looming against the Buffalo Bills. The winner will claim the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

But the effects of this Dolphins debacle won’t wash away with a couple of aspirin. An already concerning injury situation worsened with two key defensive players leaving on a cart: cornerback Xavien Howard and linebacker Bradley Chubb.

Chubb, having a Pro Bowl-worthy season, appeared to suffer a significant knee injury while attempting to make a tackle in the fourth quarter.

In addition, Tua Tagovailoa was briefly in the medical tent after he dinged his left shoulder while sliding on a fourth-down scramble in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins should have been punting in what was by then a lost cause.

Worst day possible pic.twitter.com/vPqWcUK7dh

— No Context Miami Dolphins (@OutDolphins) December 31, 2023

Home field at stake vs. Bills

Fitting that it will come down to a must-win against the Bills for Miami to claim its first AFC East title since 2008. The Dolphins will have the advantage of home field, where they have been nearly unbeatable with Tagovailoa.

But will they have a healthy Tagovailoa? At the podium afterward he said his shoulder was sore.

The quarterback’s shoulder and availability will be the focus of the week.

As for the sting of the defeat, Tagovailoa said, “We’re right where we need to be as a team, regardless of the outcome of today, and we’ll be better for it. Hopefully we get to see these guys again.”

The road to the Super Bowl will go through Baltimore after the Ravens clinched their second No. 1 seed in franchise history.

The Dolphins secured a place in the playoffs with last week’s win over Dallas. They’ll be vying with the Bills to host a first-round game. Otherwise Miami will draw an unenviable road assignment.

Jackson, Ravens worthy No. 1 in AFC

While the top seed in the conference was at stake Sunday, it never felt actually within reach for Miami despite a picture-perfect opening touchdown drive and a 10-7 lead after the first quarter. Because the Dolphins defense, which has played so well for most of the season, had no answer to Lamar Jackson and his receivers.

A loss at Baltimore wasn’t surprising. But the gulf between the teams was, well, staggering.

Want to know what a No. 1 seed looks like? The Ravens provided the answer in dominating and demoralizing the Dolphins in every aspect of this runaway.

And if you want to know what an MVP candidate looks like, Jackson is the model.

The Ravens’ multi-talented QB pitched a perfect game with five touchdowns, 321 yards and a 158.3 passer rating. It was his third career game with a perfect passer rating, tying the NFL record.

Tagovailoa started well but couldn’t keep up, finishing 22 of 38 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

Dolphins’ fast start not enough

The day began promising for Miami with a 75-yard drive in eight plays capped by an 8-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Cedric Wilson Jr. in tight coverage.

After The Ravens answered with an 85-yard scoring drive, the Dolphins had another go-ahead touchdown in reach, but Tyreek Hill inexplicably dropped it in the end zone.

It didn’t help that star cornerback Howard left early with a foot injury. Not that Howard could have done much to slow the Ravens, who seemed to have a step or 10 on Miami defenders all day.
The Ravens scored touchdowns on five of their first six drives (not counting one play at the end of the half).

A long kickoff return to open the second half and a short touchdown drive pushed Baltimore’s advantage to 35-13, and it only became more painful from there.

When the Dolphins created a glimmer of hope with a fumble recovery in the third quarter, Tagovailoa overthrew Hill for an interception on the next play.

But most painful was seeing Chubb carted off with what had the look of a season-ender.

As to whether Chubb and Tua should have still been in the one-sided game at the time they were hurt, coach Mike McDaniel said, “I would like to have a time machine for sure.”

Both teams came into the game suffering the effects of December in the NFL.

Rough day at the office. Been there, done that. #Dolphins 🐬🐬🐬

— Richmond Webb (@RichmondWebb) December 31, 2023

Dolphins missing key players

The Dolphins’ offense was missing 1,000-yard rusher Raheem Mostert and 1,000-yard receiver Jaylen Waddle, as well as starting right guard Robert Hunt.

The Ravens, with the league’s No. 1 defense, were coming off a short week after their Monday night win at San Francisco. They were missing safety Kyle Hamilton, one of the best in the biz, as well as cornerback Brandon Stephens. Ravens guard Kevin Zeitler was also out.

The Dolphins were fortunate to have their starting secondary back together with safety Jevon Holland active for the first time since injuring both knees Nov. 24 against the Jets. Cornerbacks Howard and Jalen Ramsey, both listed as questionable late in the week, were also on the field. But Howard didn’t make it through the first quarter.

This time of year, everyone playing is dealing with ailments. So both teams could point to impaired rosters.

As it turned out, Baltimore was the king of pain, dishing out a thorough beating.

The question will be whether the Dolphins can shake off the hangover and meet the challenge of their division nemesis.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @CraigDavisRuns.