The Baltimore Ravens have always been known for their strong defensive pedigree and since drafting Joe Flacco in 2008, the Ravens had stability at quarterback. One thing he didn't have was the offensive firepower Lamar Jackson had on this day. The main questions on everybody's mind were how would the new offense look, and how would Lamar Jackson look as the new face of the franchise? Well, those questions were answered early and often in Miami. In fact, within the first 11 minutes of the game, the Ravens scored three touchdowns. It was an awesome showing as the Ravens new quarterback put up career highs in touchdowns and passing yards, and kept piling it on the helpless and quite frankly, poor Miami Dolphins.
Ravens offense sets records in rout of Dolphins
The new faces for the Ravens got involved early and often in the first quarter. Mark Ingram, the new running back acquired in free agency showed the new power running style the Ravens have been talking about. Ingram was dragging defenders and running for huge plays all day long. The entire running game ran strong all afternoon and produced in a large way. Ingram had two touchdowns in his debut and was the only running back who scored.
The burning question was how would Lamar Jackson and the passing game fare? Well, Lamar Jackson found his new rookie wide receiver, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown twice in the first quarter. Brown scored touchdowns of 47 and 83 yards respectively, and the passing game was on fire all game long.
Lamar Jackson set many Ravens records in one game, silencing many of his critics. John Eisenberg, a writer for the Baltimore Ravens summed up the Sunday's performance in the following way, "The running game produced gain after gain after gain. Records were set, expectations exceeded, exclamation points added. Jackson hit on his first 10 passing attempts and finished 17 for 20, with 324 yards passing and 5 touchdowns."
Perhaps the biggest shocker was that Lamar Jackson barely ran at all, he played like a veteran quarterback, and improved on the one thing that he was critiqued on last season, his accuracy from the pocket.
Granted it's only one game, but he looked impressive and dominated from the outset. Jeremy Bergman, an Around the NFL Writer gave his thoughts on the rout, "No one had a more dominant, more impressive, and more surprising season opener than Lamar Jackson. The Ravens quarterback turned the Dolphins defense into formless blubber, on his way to a perfect 158.3 passer rating." The final score was 59-10.
While Ravens offense stole the show, the defense also made its plays. Earl Thomas, a free agent acquisition, showed why he is still one of the best safeties in the game, with an interception, and the rest of the secondary played efficiently. The questionable part of the Ravens defense was the linebackers. Matt Judon and Patrick Onwuasor led the linebacking core to a solid day. On a weekend filled with Antonio Brown drama, it was nice to see a dominant performance from a young up and coming team. While it is only one game, the future could be bright for the new-look Ravens and Lamar Jackson. The Ravens are home next week as they welcome the Arizona Cardinals to Baltimore.
