The Dolphins game against the Ravens was expected by most experts to be an aerial shootout between two of the best passing teams in the league. However, the Dolphins' running game came alive for the first time this year and the Dolphins used it to control the football and only passed when necessary. By the time the game was over, the Dolphins had come away with a 24-13 victory and their most complete team effort of the year.
For this game, QB Damon Huard, WR Brett Perriman, FB Stanley Pritchett, LB Mike Crawford, Guard Keith Sims, WR Qadry Ismail and DE Jason Taylor were inactive.
The game started with the Ravens' Matt Stover kicking off to Corey Harris one yard deep in the endzone, and Harris had trouble fielding the ball, but despite Spikes' gestures to take the touchback, Harris chose to run the ball out of the endzone and only got to the 16 yard line.
With a 1st and 10 at their 16, Marino dropped back to pass on 1st down, but his throw was to an open part of the field with no players. Either he completely missed the receiver or one of the receivers ran a wrong route. On 2nd and 10, Abdul-Jabbar gained 4 yards to the 20, but on a quick slant pass to Lamar Thomas on 3rd and 6, Marino threw the ball a little high and Thomas couldn't come down with it, so John Kidd punted from the Dolphins' 20.
The ball was fielded by Jermaine Lewis at the Ravens' 33 yard line and he returned to his left up to the Ravens' 49 before being brought down by Dwight Hollier. From their 49, the Ravens ran Bam Morris behind their left tackle right at Dunstan Anderson for 6 yards on 1st down and again for 8 yards on 2nd and 4.
This gave the Ravens a 1st and 10 at the Dolphin 37 and again Bam Morris ran for 9 more yards when one of the Dolphins linebackers slipped down. Now with 2nd and 1 at the Dolphins' 28, Morris carried again for 6 more yards down to the Dolphins' 22. On 1st and 10, Testaverde hit Derrick Alexander with a quick pass for 7 yards to the Dolphins 15 and on 2nd and 3, the Ravens handed off to Morris again, but this time Trace Armstrong got inside the Ravens' right tackle and nailed Morris in the backfield for a 4 yard loss as soon as Morris got the ball.
Now facing a 3rd and 7 at the Dolphins' 19, Testaverde dropped back to pass, but pressure from Armstrong and Gardener forced him out of the pocket. As he was scrambling, he tried to dump the ball off to Morris, but the throw was hurried and Morris couldn't hold on to the ball. With a 4th and 7 at the Dolphins' 19, the Ravens were forced to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. It was the only lead they would have.
Matt Stover kicked off to Irving Spikes 5 yards deep in the endzone and Spikes took the touchback, allowing the Dolphins to start at their 20. On 1st down, Marino handed off to Abdul-Jabbar who ran right up the middle for 15 yards and a 1st down at the 35. From there, Abdul-Jabbar could only get 2 yards on 1st down, but a quick cutback on 2nd down got him 6 more yards on a carry to the 43. However, Peter Boulware was penalized for being offsides and that gave the Dolphins a 2nd and 3 at their 42.
Again, Abdul-Jabbar got the carry and took the ball 6 yards behind James Brown for a 1st down at the 48. At that point, Marino dropped back to pass but Boulware was blitzing untouched and Marino had to throw the ball away. On 2nd and 10, Marino tried to hit Lamar Thomas, but Ray Lewis got a hand up and knocked the ball down. Now facing a 3rd and 10 from the Dolphins' 48, Marino dropped back in the shotgun and fired the ball to OJ McDuffie, who had curled underneath.
McDuffie had the 1st down by about a foot and the Dolphins started with a 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 42 with a quick pass to Bernie Parmalee down to the 37. However, Tony Siragusa was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer on the play after he came through the line and hit Marino at the knees after he had thrown the ball. This gave the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 23.
From there, Abdul-Jabbar ran for 4 yards on 1st down behind McIver and on 2nd and 6 at the 18, he again went behind McIver and with some nifty cutbacks, ran 13 yards down to the Ravens' 5. Now with 1st and goal at the 5, Marino again handed off to Abdul-Jabbar and he started to cut to the right behind Buckey, but reversed left and bulled his way into the endzone on a 5 yard touchdown run that gave the Dolphins a 7-3 lead.
Mare' kicked off to Jay Graham, who took the ball at the 5 yard line and returned it out to the 25. From there, on 1st down, Testaverde used a play-fake to Bam Morris and then hit Eric Green for 11 yards and 1st down at the 36. On the next play, Testaverde handed off to Morris, but Darryl Gardener shed his block and hit Morris hard in the backfield 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Gardener hit Morris high and the ball popped loose and Trace Armstrong, who was right behind Gardener fell on the ball, recovering the fumble.
The Dolphins started at the Raven 34 and on 1st down, Drayton went upfield and slanted to the outside behind Peter Boulware. Marino hit him perfectly and Drayton rumbled down to the 11 before being pushed out of bounds. Now with a 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 11, Marino handed off to Abdul-Jabbar who started right and cut back left for 6 yards down to the 5. Then, on 2nd and 4 from the 5, Marino handed off to Abdul-Jabbar, who tried to go around the left end. However, it looked like the Ravens were going to force him out of bounds for little or no gain, because the seemed to have the play strung out.
Just before he got to the sideline, Abdul-Jabbar stopped and cut upfield, changing direction so fast that the Ravens' couldn't keep up with him. He dove into the endzone and the Dolphins had their second rushing touchdown of the day. After Mare' added the extra point, the Dolphins had a 14-3 lead.
The kickoff was fielded by Jermaine Lewis at the 4 and returned 22 yards to the Ravens' 26. From there, Testaverde hit Alexander for 7 yards on 1st down and on 2nd and 3, Trace Armstrong jumped offsides to give the Ravens a 1st and 10 at their 38. From there, they ran Bam Morris for just 3 yards on 1st down and on 2nd and 7 from their 41, Testaverde hit Michael Jackson with a 13 yard strike down to the Dolphins' 46 yard line.
On the next play, Testaverde hit Alexander again for 6 yards on the right sideline, but Terrell Buckley hit Alexander high and while wrestling with him, forced the ball out just as 3 other Dolphins' defensive players arrived. Derrick Rodgers recovered the fumble at the Dolphins 41.
The Dolphins' 1st play from their 41 was an attempt at an end-around by Charles Jordan, but the Ravens' Mike McCrary wasn't fooled and took Jordan down in the backfield for a 6 yard loss as the 1st quarter ended, with the Dolphins having a 14-3 lead.
The Dolphins opened the 2nd quarter with a 2nd and 16 at their 35 and Marino hit McDuffie with a quick pass for 5 yards in the left flat. Now the Dolphins faced a 3rd and 11 at their 40 and Marino dropped back into the pocket as McDuffie ran a nice curl route to the left. Marino hit McDuffie for 15 yards to the Ravens' 45 for a 1st down.
From the 45, Marino tried to go to Jordan on a deep slant but Ray Lewis tipped the ball high into the air and a diving attempt by the safety almost got the Ravens an interception. On 2nd and 10, Marino called a timeout when the Dolphins couldn't get the play off on time. Then, when they did run the play, McDuffie was called for a false start for "simulating the start of the play". It was as weird a call as I've ever heard and it looked like McDuffie was just going in motion, but the officials didn't see it that way when McDuffie took a step forward before going to his right.
Now facing a 2nd and 15 at the 50, Marino dumped the ball off to Parmalee under pressure, but Bernie was only able to get 4 yards to the 46. From the shotgun, Marino then hit McPhail on a shallow crossing route, but McPhail was unable to get the 1st down and the Dolphins punted on 4th and 5 from the 40. The punt was downed at the Ravens' 14 after it took a bounce back towards the Dolphins.
At the 14, Bam Morris took the ball on 1st down and picked up 5 yards, breaking a few tackles. On 2nd and 5 from the 19, Testaverde dumped a short pass to Morris, but he only got 3 yards before being hauled down by Buckley and Rodgers. This left the Ravens with a 3rd and 2 at their 22 and when Testaverde tried to hit Eric Green with a short pass, Zach Thomas was there to break it up. The Ravens punted on 4th down and 2 to Jordan at the Dolphin 39. Jordan ran left and right but not upfield and was tackled after a 1 yard gain.
The Dolphins started at their 40 and Abdul-Jabbar had a 5 yard gain on 1st down, but that was negated by a holding penalty on Tim Ruddy. On 1st and 20 from their 30, Marino hit Drayton with a short pass, but Drayton couldn't make anything else happen and he only picked up 3 yards. On 2nd and 17 at the 33, Marino's pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Rob Burnett. However, on 3rd and 17, Marino started from the shotgun and McDuffie ran down about 17 yards and did a quick hook just as the ball got to him. When he caught the ball he was about a yard short of the 1st down, but he spun to his right and dove for the 1st down.
The Dolphins now had a 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 49 and Abdul-Jabbar carried for 6 yards behind McIver on 1st down and then 2 more yards on 2nd down. On 3rd and 2 from the 41, Marino hit Jordan on the quick slant in and even though Jordan was immediately leveled by Ray Lewis, he held on to the ball for a 1st down at the Ravens' 31.
The Dolphins went to the pass on 1st down, but Marino was forced to throw the ball away when no one was open. On 2nd and 10, the Ravens blitzed and Marino hit Parmalee down the right sideline for 18 yards to the 13. Irving Spikes got the handoff on 1st and 10 from the 13 and got 4 yards to the 9. He got the call again on 2nd and 6 and picked up 3 more yards to the Ravens' 6. Then, on 3rd and 3 from the 6, Marino handed off once more, this time to Abdul-Jabbar, who went through a big hole at the line of scrimmage right up the middle into the endzone for his 3rd touchdown of the day and a 21-3 Dolphins' lead.
The kickoff sailed to the Ravens' 7, where Jay Graham took it and returned it to the 22, before he was taken down by Bracey Walker. On 1st and 10 at their 22 with 4:47 remaining in the half, Testaverde dropped back to pass. The Dolphins had called a full blitz on the play, but they didn't get to Testaverde and he hit Michael Jackson for 22 yards out to the 44.
On the next play, the Ravens were called for holding after a 10 yard run by Graham, so they were pushed back to a 1st and 20 at their 34. A screen pass to Eric Green on 1st down netted only 5 yards, but on 2nd and 15, Testaverde found Jermaine Lewis across the middle after Lewis had toasted Corey Harris and Lewis got 27 yards before he was brought down by Harris.
Now with a 1st and 10 at the Dolphins' 34, Testaverde tried a little swing pass to Graham, but Shawn Wooden nailed Graham just as he caught the ball for a 4 yard loss. On 2nd and 14, Testaverde hit Michael Jackson on a 3 yard pass that was well defensed by Calvin Jackson. After this play, the 2 minute warning was given to the teams.
On 3rd and 11, Testaverde dropped back to pass, but good coverage downfield and pressure from the defensive line forced Vinny to scramble and while he managed 10 yards, the Dolphins stopped him at the Dolphins' 25, forcing a 4th and 1.
With 1:25 left to go in the half, the Ravens elected to go for it on 4th down. However, Testaverde fumbled the snap and the ball was kicked forward on the ground to the Dolphins' 23. There it was recovered by Bam Morris, but the rules say that only the player who fumbled the ball can recover it on 4th down. This is to prevent any trick plays where a player will deliberately fumble the ball forward and get a 1st down when another player recovers it.
Because of this rule, the Dolphins took over at their 25 with 1:20 remaining in the half. On 1st down, Abdul-Jabbar ran the ball for 7 yards behind McIver, but was hit hard at the end of the run and fumbled. Fortunately, OJ McDuffie was there and recovered the fumble at the Dolphins' 33. Abdul-Jabbar ran again for 4 yards on 2nd down, giving the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at their 37, but with only 7 seconds remaining in the half, Marino tried to hit Abdul-Jabbar with a quick pass, but it fell incomplete. Marino then knelt down and the first half ended with the Dolphins ahead 21-3.
The Dolphins kicked off to open the 2nd half and Lewis took the ball at the Ravens' 4, returning it to the 21. However, a holding penalty on the Ravens forced them back to their 12. From there, the Ravens starting running the no-huddle offense and Testaverde hit Ryan Yarborough with a 3 yard pass on 1st down to the 15. The Ravens' tried running Morris on 2nd down, but Zach Thomas met him at the line of scrimmage and stopped him for no gain.
Now facing a 3rd and 7 from their 15, Testaverde hit Jermaine Lewis for 13 yards on a quick pattern to the sidelines. That gave them a 1st and 10 at their 28 and the tried to run Morris again, but again Zach Thomas stopped Morris after a 2 yard gain. With a 2nd and 8 at their 30, Testaverde badly underthrew Michael Jackson in the middle of the field, which forced them to a 3rd and 8. On this play, Testaverde hit Derrick Alexander on the sideline, but Calvin Jackson made a nice play to push him out of bounds short of the first down marker and the Ravens elected to punt now that they faced a 4th and 1 at their 37.
The punt was taken by Jordan at the 26 and he made a nice, juking, stop-and-go run back across the field to the Dolphins' 48, where he was forced out of bounds. From there, on 1st down, Abdul-Jabbar was stacked up at the line of scrimmage. Marino found McDuffie again on 2nd down for 11 yards and a 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 41 on a quick comeback route.
Marino handed the ball off to Abdul-Jabbar on 1st down and Karim responded by making a nice cutback run to the left for 12 yards down to the 29. On the next play, when Marino gave the ball to Abdul-Jabbar again, he made it just past the line of scrimmage, but was stripped by Ray Lewis and Mike McCrary recovered the fumble for the Ravens.
The Ravens started at their 31 by running Bam Morris, first to the right for 4 yards and then again for 3 more yards. Now with a 3rd and 3 at their 38, Testaverde dumped a short pass off to Morris, who picked up 5 yards to the 43. From there, Testaverde again passed to Morris for 5 more yards out to the 48. Now with a 2nd and 5, Testaverde dropped back to pass and with no pressure on him, hit Derrick Alexander for 19 yards down to the Dolphins' 33.
Now Morris was given the ball up the middle to the 32 for 1 yard, and on 2nd and 9 Testaverde tried to hit Jay Graham in the right flat, but Zach Thomas was there and broke up the pass, almost getting the interception. Now facing a 3rd and 9 at the Dolphins' 32, Testaverde dropped back to pass and again facing no pressure, Testaverde had all day and found Michael Jackson for 19 yards to the Dolphins' 13.
On 1st and 10 at the Dolphins' 13, pressure from the Dolphins defense forced Vinny to throw the ball away. On 2nd down, Testaverde hit Eric Green for 8 yards to the Dolphins' 5, but when Testaverde tried to hit Jackson on the quick out on 3rd and 2, the timing was off and Jackson couldn't get back to the ball. This left the Ravens with a 4th and 2 at the Dolphins' 5 and they elected to take the field goal, even though they were down by 18 points.
With the score now 21-6, the Ravens kicked off to Irving Spikes, who took the ball at the 10 and ran straight up the middle for 25 yards to the Dolphins' 35. From there, Marino handed off to Spikes, but Spikes was stuffed for no gain on 1st down. On 2nd and 10, from their 35, Marino hit McDuffie on a short crossing route and McDuffie stopped and spun backwards, breaking tackles for an extra 5 yards and a 1st down at the Dolphins' 48.
From there, Spikes got the carry on 1st down for 3 yards and Lamar Thomas caught a quick pass on 2nd down for 5 more yards, to leave the Dolphins with a 3rd and 2 at the Ravens' 44. Marino then hit Drayton on the left side and Drayton ran over 3 defensive backs for 7 yards and a 1st down at the Ravens' 37.
On 1st and 10, Spikes got the carry and ran for 2 yards to the 35. Spikes got 3 more yards on 2nd down to the 32 and on 3rd and 5, Spikes made a nice cutback run behind Jeff Buckey for 9 yards and a 1st down at the Ravens' 23. From there, Marino hit Lamar Thomas on a quick slant in for 10 yards and another 1st down to the Ravens' 13.
With 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 13, Marino pitched out to Spikes, who raced around right end for 8 yards down to the Ravens' 5. At this point, the third quarter ended with the Dolphins up 21-6.
The Dolphins opened the 4th quarter with a 2nd and 2 at the Ravens' 5 yard line and Irving Spikes was given the ball again and managed a yard and a half before he was stopped, leaving the Dolphins with a 3rd and a half yard to go at about the 3 and a half yard line of the Ravens. The Dolphins decided to run Spikes one more time, but this time Ravens' linebacker Jamie Sharper came through the line and dropped Spikes for a 2 yard loss in the backfield.
Now with a 4th and 2 at the Ravens' 5, the Dolphins kicked a short field goal to widen their lead to 24-6. Mare' then kicked off to Jermaine Lewis, who took the ball at the 6, but was swamped with Dolphins at the 18.
From their 18, Testaverde tried to hit Eric Green on 1st down, but the ball was overthrown. However, Trace Armstrong was called for an offsides penalty and the Ravens had a 1st and 5 at their 23. From there, Testaverde hit tight end Brian Kinchen for 4 yards to the 27 and on 2nd and 1, Jay Graham tried to run the ball, but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
Now facing 3rd and 1 at their 27, Testaverde hit Jermaine Lewis for 5 yards to their 32 and a 1st down. On the next play, Testaverde threw deep down the middle, but there was no one anywhere near the ball and it fell incomplete. However, on 2nd and 10, Testaverde hit Michael Jackson on a deep crossing route for 16 yards to the Ravens' 48 yard line and a 1st down.
Still running the no-huddle offense, Testaverde tried to hit Jay Graham with a short pass on 1st down, but the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and Graham couldn't hold on to it. Then, on 2nd and 10, Testaverde tried to go to Yarborough again down the middle, but overthrew him deep, leaving the Ravens with a 3rd and 10 at their 48.
On the next play, Testaverde again had plenty of time to pass and hit Jermaine Lewis on a crossing route in the middle of the field for an 18 yard gain and a 1st down. Now starting at the Dolphins' 34, Testaverde dropped back to pass and found Derrick Alexander all alone on the right sideline at about the 5 yard line. Alexander caught the pass and tiptoed down the sideline into the endzone for a touchdown and a 24-12 score.
Replay showed that Buckley had Alexander in coverage, but as Alexander was making a cut from the post pattern back to the corner, Buckley slipped and fell on the ground when he tried to cut with Alexander, leaving Alexander wide open.
The Ravens lined up in the weirdest formation I have ever seen to go for two points. There was no offensive line, only the center, with Testaverde in a shotgun position behind him. All the way to the right and all the way to the left side of the field, were two clusters of receivers. And there were a few running backs near Vinny.
After lining up in this formation, Testaverde barked some signals, but the team all ran back to a normal field goal formation and kicked a field goal to make the score 24-13. Apparently, they wanted to see how the Dolphins would cover that formation. The Ravens were not satisfied with what they saw, so they went for a normal field goal.
With 10:21 remaining in the game, the Ravens kicked off to McPhail who took the ball 5 yards deep in the endzone for a touchback. The Dolphins, starting at their 20, ran Abdul-Jabbar on 1st down for 8 yards behind McIver. However, on 2nd and 2 from the 28, Ray Lewis came through the line and dropped Abdul-Jabbar for a 2 yard loss.
The Dolphins now faced a 3rd and 4 from their 26, but a quick slant to McDuffie got just enough yards for a 1st down at the Dolphins' 31. Abdul-Jabbar could only get a yard on 1st down to the 32, but on 2nd down, Marino tossed the ball to Abdul-Jabbar crossing the middle. First, Abdul-Jabbar batted the ball in the air, but then gathered it in and ran 12 yards to the Dolphins' 44.
From the 44, Abdul-Jabbar ran 2 yards on 1st down. On 2nd and 8 from the Dolphins' 46, Abdul-Jabbar was forced out of bounds after about 4 yards, but Peter Boulware hit him late after he had gone out of bounds and was penalized 15 yards. This gave the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at the Ravens' 35 with 6:20 remaining in the game.
The Dolphins then inserted Irving Spikes and he ran for 2 yards on 1st down and 3 yards on 2nd down to give the Dolphins a 3rd and 5 at the 30. Lining up under center with 3 wide receivers on 3rd and 5, Marino dropped back to pass and then dumped the ball to Spikes over the middle. Spikes turned and ran up the middle for 7 yards to the 23 and a 1st down.
Again, the Dolphins ran Spikes for 2 yards on 1st down and then for 5 yards on 2nd down to give themselves a 3rd and 3 at the Ravens' 16. Spikes ran for 2 and a half yards on 3rd down, but now the Dolphins faced a 4th and about a half yard for a 1st down. They elected to go for it, but when Spikes took the handoff from Marino and tried to dive over McIver and Brown, Ray Lewis met Spikes in mid-air and stopped him just short of the first down.
While this drive didn't score any points, it was important for the Dolphins because it took 8 minutes off the clock and left the Ravens with 2:37 left in the game to score 11 points.
They started at their 14 and a short pass to Graham got them 6 yards to the 20. Then, on 2nd and 4, they got 9 more yards on a pass to Eric Green to the 29. At this point, the 2 minute warning was sounded.
Now, with a 1st and 10 at their own 29, Testaverde hit Eric Green for 5 yards to the 34 and on 2nd and 5, hit Jermaine Lewis in the middle of the field. Lewis was able to run outside and get out of bounds after a 15 yard gain and that gave the Ravens a 1st and 10 at their 49.
Testaverde tried to hit Michael Jackson on 1st and 10, but missed him and on 2nd and 10, overthrew Eric Green on a deep seam route. However, the Dolphins were called for defensive holding on the play and that gave the Ravens a 1st and 10 at the Dolphins 46 with 1:37 remaining in the game.
A first down pass to Alexander in the middle of the field was dropped and on 2nd and 10 a short pass to Graham could only get 4 yards to the Dolphins 42. Under pressure on 3rd and 6 by Armstrong and Bowens, Testaverde threw the ball poorly and it fell incomplete.
Now facing a 4th and 6 from the Dolphins 42 with only about a minute to play, Testaverde had no pressure on him as he found Michael Jackson underneath the zone for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Dolphins 30. On the next play, Testaverde tripped and fell and then got back up before he found that Jermaine Lewis had beaten Corey Harris in the middle of the field. He hit Lewis for 28 yards and Lewis was just barely stopped by the Dolphins at the 2 yard line with just 45 seconds remaining in the game.
With 1st and goal at the 2, Testaverde tried to hit Jackson on a timing pattern in the endzone, but he overthrew the play and the ball went out of bounds. On 2nd down, Vinny tried to hit Alexander in the middle, but the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and sailed high and out of the endzone. On third and goal, Testaverde tried to hit Jackson on a quick out to his left, but threw the ball a little too wide. Jackson had to come back a little too much to make the catch and even though his feet were still in the endzone, the upper part of his body was back across the goal line and the ball never broke the plane of the goal. When he hit the ground at the one foot line, Calvin Jackson was there to make sure he was down.
This left the Ravens with a 4th and goal at the 1 foot line and Testaverde tried to hit Michael Jackson in the right back of the endzone. However, Terrell Buckley jumped and knocked the ball into the air and it sailed over Jackson's head and out of the endzone. This gave the Dolphins the ball at their own one foot line and Marino took one snap and made a quarterback sneak to avoid getting caught in the endzone and that ended the game, with the Dolphins winning 24-13.