Dolphins Week 9 Instant Takeaways: Not Ready for Prime Time

The Miami Dolphins, it turns out, are who we thought they were.

And that, unfortunately for the organization and their fans, is nowhere near good enough to win games on a consistent basis.

Yes, the Dolphins had a one-week reprieve from the constant criticism and scrutiny they faced when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons with a very efficient performance in Week 8, but they were back to their bumbling ways against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Talk about not ready for prime time (old-school reference).

The reaction of Dolphins fans at Hard Rock Stadium said it all, whether it was loud boos that first showed up in the first half or fans wearing paper bags, it was ugly.

The Dolphins have not been good in prime time in recent years, but this was bad.

Where the Dolphins played mistake-free football against Atlanta, but they needed another clean game and more against a Baltimore team that was welcoming back two-time MVP Lamar Jackson.

And for the first half the Dolphins stood toe to toe with Baltimore, except that they kept taking backward steps with mistakes like the Tahj Washington fumble around the Miami 20, the false start on fourth-and-1 or the missed field goal or the fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 13 that sailed into the end zone with no receiver in sight.

That the Dolphins would lose against Baltimore wasn't surprising even if the Ravens came in with an equally disappointing 2-5 record, but the way they fell apart in the second half and stopped being competitive was a downer.

Then again, maybe it served the purpose of eliminating any illusion that this team might be back on the right track after the Atlanta game.

NO ROOM FOR ERROR

-- The style the Dolphins used to defeat Atlanta worked well against a team that was missing its starting quarterback and top wide receiver and is mid-level to being with, but they needed more against a much more talented Baltimore team. That style of play doesn't provide for a large marge for error, and the Dolphins clearly went over it in this one.

-- Maybe the biggest shame of this game was that the Dolphins trailed 14-6 at halftime when they outplayed Baltimore and easily could have been in front. While he threw two touchdown passes in that first half, Jackson didn't really look like his MVP self, but the Dolphins helped him by giving him the ball inside the 10-yard line on the Tahj Washington fumble.

-- Yes, we need to mention the bogus tripping penalty against Ollie Gordon II that cost the Dolphins a 36-yard completion from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle inside the Baltimore 20-yard line. Since the score was 14-3 at the time and the Dolphins ended up punting, who knows where the game goes from there if that call isn't made, but Miami simply isn't good enough or resilient enough to overcome that kind of setback.

-- The defense overall had a very good first half, but caved at the start of the second half and that was pretty much ballgame.

-- Of course, what was missing from the defense was a takeaway, something that could have made a difference in a game like this. The Dolphins did get two sacks, including one by Jaelan Phillips, but that came in the fourth quarter and when he failed to get Jackson down on the last play of the first quarter, Jackson ended up with a 35-yard completion to tight end Isaiah Likely. That, unfortunately, wasn't the first time we've seen this.

-- The missed field goal was very painful, too, because it came right after the false start that caused the Dolphins the chance to go for it on fourth-and-1.

-- The bottom line is the Dolphins simply didn't measure up in this game, and it's pretty clear there are long and tough conversations that need to be had because this season is over when it comes to playoff hopes.