Even worse than we thought? Dolphins ripped by Ravens, 59-10
We suspected the Miami Dolphins would be bad — even really bad — after letting some good players walk this season, and with dreams of Tua Tagovailoa perhaps dancing in their head.
But this bad?
The Dolphins went into halftime down 42-10 to the Baltimore Ravens in a brutal first two quarters for new head coach Brian Flores.
Things didn’t get better, either.
The Ravens scored a franchise best for points in the 59-10 destruction. Last season, the Ravens whipped the Bills, 47-3.
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There have been only 14 games in the NFL’s modern era (since 1970) with that many points allowed. The record for points allowed is 62, which has been done four times, the last one coming in 2011.
“We’ll be better next week,” Flores said after the game.
They had better. Incoming are the New England Patriots, perhaps with Miami resident Antonio Brown making his Pats debut.
Here’s how bad things went for Miami
The defense was torched for two long touchdowns by Ravens rookie Hollywood Brown on his first two NFL touches.
Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was picked on the fourth offensive play of the season, one of two first-half turnovers for Miami.
And the Ravens pulled off a fake punt for good measure, too.
The Dolphins pulled Fitzpatrick and threw in Josh Rosen at QB ... and Rosen was picked on his second pass attempt.
And even though the Ravens yanked starting QB Lamar Jackson — who threw for a career-high five TD passes — they still scored. Backup Robert Griffin III led a TD drive early in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 4th and goal play.
Just to rub it in a bit.
However, the Ravens could have made it worse. After deep driving into Miami territory late, they took a mercy knee to end this thrashing.
If the Dolphins are tanking, they’re sure not making it look like they’re doing it artfully.
How bad? Historically bad, it turns out
Only four teams in NFL history have been outscored by 32 or more points in the first half of an opener, according to Pro Football Reference, and no team has allowed more than 35 points in the first half of a Week 1 game in league history.
The last team to allow 42 or more points in the first half of a game? That would be the Chicago Bears in 2014.
And for you stats nerds out there, this was the first 59-10 final score in NFL history. How about that?
The Dolphins did score in a two-minute drill at the end of the half, turning a 42-3 deficit into a 42-10 game.
So ... at least they were still trying for a bit?
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