After a competitive first quarter, the Miami Dolphins got destroyed by the Baltimore Ravens 56-19 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Miami lost several key players during the game, as Bradley Chubb is done for the year and Xavien Howard could be as well. The Dolphins are now going into a crucial Week 18 matchup against the Buffalo Bills for the division.
But, before we get there, we took time to grade every position group from the Dolphins’ loss, from quarterback to special teams.
Quarterback: C
Tua Tagovailoa had a shot to make his MVP case on Sunday, but, unfortunately, Tagovailoa struggled to keep the Dolphins in the game. While he was hindered by his receivers’ poor play, the quarterback simply wasn’t good enough.
Tagovailoa finished 22-for-38 for 237 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had a few crucial drops on would-be touchdown passes from Tyreek Hill and Chase Claypool.
Tagovailoa needs to be great to beat the Bills in Week 18.
Running Backs: B+
Raheem Mostert was a surprise scratch for Sunday’s game, as he couldn’t go due to his injuries. De’Von Achane provided the Dolphins with a much-needed spark.
Although his solid play wasn’t enough, Achane finished with 14 carries for 107 yards while also bringing in four catches for 30 yards, including a great touchdown reception.
Wide Receivers: C
Hill self admittedly had a bad game, as he dropped an easy touchdown catch in the first quarter and finished the day with six catches for 76 yards. Claypool also dropped a potential touchdown.
The group struggled to fill Jaylen Waddle’s absence, especially after the first quarter when the offense couldn’t get much going. Cedrick Wilson Jr. had a touchdown catch but no one else did much beyond that.
Tight Ends: A-
The tight ends are the only group to receive an “A” grade on Sunday. Durham Smythe had some great catches, as he was second on the team in receiving yards (54). Julian Hill also had a nine-yard catch.
Offensive Line: B-
The offensive line was fine without Robert Hunt and Connor Williams. The group did struggle to pick up the blitz in pass protection, leading to three sacks.
They did do a good job in the run game, helping average over six yards per carry. Liam Eichenberg left the game early due to injury but re-entered after just one play. The Dolphins could use a healthy offensive line in their final game of the season.
Defensive Line: B-
Zach Sieler was the only Dolphins defender to have a sack, as Miami struggled to get any sort of pass rush on Sunday. He also had five tackles.
Christian Wilkins had three tackles and one of those was for a loss of yards. The duo gave a solid effort throughout the game.
Raekwon Davis had four total tackles.
Linebackers: C
Unfortunately, the most notable thing for the linebackers on Sunday was Bradley Chubb suffering a torn ACL, as he got hurt on a play late in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins were down 30 points.
Duke Riley got exposed in coverage several times, as the Dolphins’ lack of explosiveness at the linebacker position was a point of the Ravens offense.
David Long Jr. had seven tackles, but it was hard to watch the Ravens’ star linebackers and think that the Dolphins’ current linebacker group is above average.
Cornerbacks: C
Xavien Howard managed to play a few plays before he injured his foot. The injury appears to be serious, and the Pro Bowl cornerback could miss the rest of the season.
Eli Apple wasn’t great in relief of Howard, as he and the other cornerbacks got beat consistently.
The secondary had tons of miscommunication errors, as Lamar Jackson had no trouble finding open receivers throughout the game. The cornerbacks need to change a lot before the Dolphins play the Bills next Sunday.
Safeties: C+
Jevon Holland returned from injury, but his rust showed. Holland and DeShon Elliott had similar games to the other members of the secondary, allowing way too many big plays for the Ravens in the air.
Elliott led the Dolphins with 10 tackles and one tackle for loss.
Special Teams: B-
The special teams gave up a long return on the second-half kickoff, giving the Ravens a red-zone appearance to start the second half. Jake Bailey punted well, and Jason Sanders was perfect on his kicks.
