Lamar Jackson returned for the Baltimore Ravens in style as he threw four touuchdowns in a 28-6 win over the Miami Dolphins.
The star quarterback and former MVP threw for 204 yards and completed 18 of 23 passes in his first start since Week 4 against Kansas City, and the Ravens (3-5) won their second straight game as they hope to make a run in the wide-open AFC North.
“It felt great,” Jackson said. “I didn’t have any problems. I was feeling good out there.”
Jackson had been out of action with a hamstring injury but linked up with tight end Mark Andrews for two touchdown catches. Jackson’s other TD passes went to tight end Charlie Kolar and receiver Rashod Bateman.
“It’s do or die,” Jackson said. “Win or go home. Usually we start off winning games. But right now we’re behind, and we’ve all got to step it up.”
The Ravens were 1-5 just five days ago but have put together consecutive impressive wins after Tyler Huntley led them to a 30-16 victory over Chicago last Sunday.
“We had two games that we needed to win in four days,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “And they were absolute must-wins. And for our guys to step up the way they did is commendable. And it just means we’re two games under .500. That’s all it means. But we’re two games under .500, right? We were four games under .500.”
Tua Tagovailoa, who completed 25 of 40 passes for 261 yards with an interception, led the Dolphins 80 yards down the field early in the fourth, a promising drive that included two fourth-down conversions. But receiver Malik Washington fumbled at the 10, and Dolphins fans began to exit Hard Rock Stadium en masse with more than 10 minutes remaining.
“You want to dictate the terms. You want to fix stuff,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “That sucks. All of that does. But it’s a pretty consistent formula of – fans enjoy winning. Our expectation is that we have to do that work and do the right things for fans to enjoy the experience. Unfortunately we didn’t do that tonight, so we’ve got to get back to work to give them something to cheer about.”
