Great Day of Fishing in Miami

Ravens top Dolphins 27-13 to even record at 3-3

After being stampeded by a herd of Colts, the Ravens needed to bounce back and find their rhythm again. So they went fishing in Miami. They came home with a 27 to 13 win over the Dolphins.

On paper the first down totals and total yards for each team show an evenly played game. The biggest difference came in who finished drives and a pick six from Terrell Suggs in the 2nd quarter.

The game started out a little tentative by both teams as they traded field goals after moving the ball fairly well against each other. The Baltimore defense started to apply a little more pressure in the 2nd quarter however. Highlighted by the interception for a touchdown by Suggs that put the Ravens up 10 to 3. The Dolphins did manage to mount somewhat of a drive only to hit the Ravens defensive wall again. They had to settle for another field goal. That made it Ravens 10 Miami 6.

Baltimore answered with a drive of their own and it resulted in a Joe Flacco touchdown pass to Derrick Mason. The first half ended Baltimore 17 Miami 6. Mason led all Baltimore receivers on the day with 6 catches. Joe Flacco for his part threw for 232 solid yards by completing 17 of 23 attempts to 6 different receivers. He had the one TD pass to Mason. Also he had 0 interceptions. In fact Flacco looked pretty comfortable all day and didn't make any glaring mistakes overall. And the O-line gave him a nice comfort zone for most of the day. Although he was sacked 3 times, the Miami defense was streaky against the Ravens offense.

The Ravens got to Pennington only once but had some pressure on him. They also held down the rushing game of Miami. One thing that should also be pointed out is that the Ravens weren't fooled by the now infamous Miami Wildcat formation where Miami running back Ronnie Brown takes the direct snap from center. The Ravens said "Wildcat Shm-ildcat" whenever Miami tried to run that formation.

The Ravens added a quality rushing attack to their solid passing attack. They were led by Willis McGahee who added 105 yards on 19 carries and 1 touchdown. McGahee ended the day with 105 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving for a 152 total yards from scrimmage. The only negative part of McGahee's day was a fumble on the Miami 11 yard line in the 4th quarter.

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The 3rd quarter had the Ravens open the second half with a field goal. Miami would answer with a solid touchdown drive to make the score Ravens 20 and the Dolphins 13 to end the 3rd quarter. The Ravens were looking like they were headed for a score to start the 4th quarter. That is when McGahee fumbled at the Miami 11 yard line. Miami did not convert that turnover into points however. In fact they managed basically a 3 and out. (They had 2 first downs because of a Miami false start penalty)

The Dolphins punted and the Ravens took advantage of their next possession and scored a touchdown to make the score 27 to 13 Baltimore on top. The final 6+ minutes were basically a stalemate that ended the game with the Baltimore victory.

This was a character building win for the Ravens because they are beating teams that are their equal or inferior. That is how you climb to be among the nobility of the league. The deeper into a season the rookie QB goes and improves will be a huge step in flirting with the playoffs. The more opponents see film of Joe Flacco the more data they will have to try and expose his inexperience. On the other hand the more success the big gunner has against more and more defensive schemes, the faster he will mature. I think he has shown a lot already. It will also be prudent that the Ravens continue to run the ball with authority. Their defense will always keep them in the contest.

So here we are at a respectable 3 and 3 in the standings with 3 very winnable games in front of them on the schedule. The first is the Oakland Raiders coming to Baltimore.

By Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Baltimore Ravens Correspondent