The Ravens took care of business in Miami, pulling away from the Dolphins in a 28-6 victory on "Thursday Night Football."
With Lamar Jackson back following a three-game absence, the Ravens offense looked more like itself. And a large reason for that was the significant contributions from the tight ends.
The Ravens crushed with multiple tight end sets last season when they were the top offense in the NFL. It has taken some time to get that grouping on track after Isaiah Likely missed the first three games with a foot injury, and then Jackson was sidelined by a hamstring injury.
With everybody back in Miami, the tight ends shined once again, hauling in a combined seven catches for 105 yards and three touchdowns. Heading into the night, Baltimore's tight ends had 33 catches for 276 yards and three scores through seven games.
"To see those guys come alive, and [Jackson] knew they were there, [it was] just a matter of getting them the ball, and we were able to get them the ball on play-action a number of times behind the linebackers, which was big for us," Head Coach John Harbaugh said.
Here are the top takeaways from the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades and snap counts:
- Charlie Kolar, who caught a touchdown in a second straight game, had the offense's second-highest grade (86.1) behind Jackson (87.8). Likely was just behind them with an 84.1 grade and Mark Andrews had the Ravens' sixth-highest offensive grade (78.1).
- Jackson's highly anticipated return was highly efficient, as he had just five incompletions and four touchdown passes, with no turnovers. His 87.8 grade was his best of the season by a wide margin.
- First-round rookie safety Malaki Starks had his breakout game. He made two superb tackles on the Dolphins' first drive of the game, holding them to a field goal, and sealed the Ravens' win with a fourth-quarter interception. Starks' 91.2 PFF grade was the highest on the team. His previous highest grade was a 69.3 against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.
- It was a good night for the Ravens' safety trio overall. Kyle Hamilton had the defense's third-highest PFF grade (81), and Gilman, who had a key first-quarter forced fumble and recovery, scored a 69.1. The three safeties played every snap except two (Gilman came off).
- Defensive tackle Travis Jones had his best game yet this season, scoring an 89.6 grade. His previous high was 81.1 in Week 1 in Buffalo. Jones had five tackles, a half sack, and a tackle for loss. The Dolphins only rushed for 87 yards.
- Running back Keaton Mitchell's snaps increased again, as his 10 were just one behind Justice Hill's 11 snaps. Mitchell ran four times for 11 yards.
