The Miami Dolphins suffered a tragic end to their six-game winning streak Sunday at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.
In addition to walking away with a much-needed victory, the Ravens essentially added a little insult to injury by leaving the scoreboard showing a 38-6 margin.
Perhaps the pressure of the upcoming off-season forced the Ravens to bring their A game to their home field when facing the rising star line-up on the Miami Dolphins roster.
FINAL: @Ravens win BIG! #RavensFlock #MIAvsBAL pic.twitter.com/SMw5MQuqpC
— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2016
Have a day, @JoeFlacco ! #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/TemZodwb9g
— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2016
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase seemed to take the team’s loss in stride during post-game interviews . Instead of having one person or play that helped the Dolphins to head in the right direction, Gase admitted that the Dolphins “went the wrong way” against the Ravens.
“It was just one thing after another. We didn’t execute and they pounced all over it. That’s what they do. There’s a reason why they’ve won divisions, they’ve won playoff games, they’ve won Super Bowls. Because they understand, at this part of the season, you’ve got to be on it early, because it can snowball one way or the other.”
When you examine the play-by-play rundown of the Miami Dolphins vs Baltimore Ravens match-up, it was apparently clear that the Ravens were determined to “go big” from the very start. During the team’s first two drives of the game, they scored each time – leaving the Dolphins trailing 14-0 by the end of the first quarter.
The Ravens’ defense seemed to have Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill on edge for the entire game as well. Throughout the Dolphins’ six-game winning streak, Tannehill impressed fans and critics by only throwing one interception. That accolade quickly faded during Sunday’s match against the Ravens, especially after he threw his third and final interception in the game.
Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill never gets comfortable, or safe, vs. Ravens defense https://t.co/gVGX89SV0p pic.twitter.com/a3JVw7nHrZ
— Baltimore Sun Sports (@BaltSunSports) December 5, 2016
I dont watch Ryan Tannehill enough to know but he is garbage every time he plays the Ravens.
— Tim Gilman (@TIMinBALTIMORE) December 4, 2016
Ugly game here in Baltimore. Score made it look worse then it was, but Miami’s defense was bad AND Tannehill was bad.
— Austin John (@Phinfanalyst) December 4, 2016
Even with the vast number of negative tweets about the Miami Dolphins and Ryan Tannehill’s performance, there were still quite a few positive messages circulating online as well. The Dolphins’ very own Kenyan Drake shared in the positive trend of uplifting messages on Twitter with a simple yet profound tweet of his own.
Never let the situation dictate your energy! Answer the wake up call???? #FinsUp
— Kenyan Drake™ (@KDx32) December 4, 2016
Quite a few fans showed their loyalty to the Miami Dolphins with tweets featuring #FinsUP to show their support of the Miami team even if they were disappointed with the results of Sunday’s game as well.
#FinsUp pic.twitter.com/UbgjtVot1Z
— TGA615 (@thegrayarea) December 5, 2016
I am Very Passionate about my team so before talking trash get your facts right than come talk to me… #FinsUp #MIAvsBAL #MiamiDolphins
— Phil (@McHenryIrish23) December 5, 2016
All about focusing on next week at home. #MIAvsARI #FinsUp @ian693
— Josh (@B_Flave84) December 5, 2016
Things may seem dreary for the Miami Dolphins right now. However, their balloon of off-season optimism has not been popped just yet – there is still enough time for them to turn things around. The Dolphins are heading back home to their very own Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens for the next game on Sunday, December 11 against the Arizona Cardinals. Longtime Dolphins fans and critics are more than likely hoping that the home field advantage will pump up the team to get them refocused and determined to make it to the off-season.
As is the case with many other teams in similar situations, the next few weeks will be a rough journey filled with ups and downs, When the smoke clears, though, there is still a chance for any of those teams – including the Miami Dolphins – to rise to the occasion and make it to Super Bowl LI.
[Featured Image by Rob Carr/Getty Images]
