Dolphins refute ‘cuteness’ label as they prepare for Ravens

MIAMI — The Miami Dolphins, the same team that hung 70 points on the Denver Broncos in Week 3, scored one offensive touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16.

And they won 22-20.

These are the new Mike McDaniel-led Dolphins.

In 2022, Miami was an offense-heavy team. It finished sixth in yards per game, but ranked 24th in scoring defense, 18th in yards allowed per game and 21st in defensive expected points added. When their offense faltered, as it noticeably did during the final month of the season, the Dolphins’ fledgling defense and run game exposed the team as one-dimensional.

The perception of Miami as a speedy, finesse-style team that will get pushed around by physical opponents is a narrative the Dolphins can shed for good with a win this weekend against the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens (1 p.m., E.T., CBS).

“To spend your time worrying about narratives, I would be a stressed out individual,” McDaniel said. “I think it is kind of odd though. I feel like — I haven’t checked lately — but I feel like we’re pretty good at stopping the run and running the football. That’s generally not associated with cuteness.

“Whatever. I mean, there’s always going to be something.”

After an early-season offensive eruption that had some searching for the NFL’s record book, Miami’s defense has been its most reliable unit during the final stretch of the 2023 season. That’s not to say Miami’s offense has fizzled, as the Dolphins lead the league in scoring at 30.9 points per game and in yards per game at 411.5. But they’ve cooled off a bit since Week 8, averaging 367 yards per game over the past two months, sixth-most in the NFL. Miami has most noticeably dropped off in terms of yards per rush, at 3.9 yards per carry; it averaged a league-best 6.3 yards per rush through the first 7 weeks of the season.

The defense, however, has picked up any slack. Since Week 8, the Dolphins rank second in defensive EPA (61.98), first in scoring (15.9 points per game) and yards per game (253.8), and fourth in sacks per dropback (9.4%). With two games remaining in the regular season, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit has already set a franchise record for sacks in a single season with 52.

In Week 16, Miami held the Cowboys — the NFL’s top-scoring offense over the past month — to 20 points.

It’s a stark turnaround for a team missing arguably its best pass-rusher in Jaelan Phillips, its starting middle linebacker in Jerome Baker, and starting safety in Jevon Holland.

“Well, every season it’s a new deal,” Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “I would say it sounds cliche, but every season … you’re always hoping and praying that this is going to be the team.

“I think what sets this team apart from any other team is the leaders that we have both on offense and defense, and guys willing to … hold others accountable to what they need to do. I would say that’s what feels a little different this year than maybe a couple of the other years, with the teams we’ve had.”

Keeping that up against the Ravens will be a challenge, particularly after Baltimore blew out the San Francisco 49ers, 33-19, in Santa Clara. While Sunday’s win over Dallas secured a playoff berth, beating the Ravens would capture Miami’s first AFC East title since 2008 and keep its pursuit of the conference’s top seed alive.

“That was an ultimate goal of the team, so they’d be very happy with that. It would be secondary in the moment to this game and winning this game,” McDaniel said. “You want these types of games. You want to go against the best, and that in itself justifies 100 percent of our attention.

“But you want to talk about a team that will make you pay if you are outside the lines of what your focus should be. They will, fast and furious, teach you to regard them. We have our hands full in that regard, but we’re also in a really, really cool moment to be present and enjoy, because we are building on an entire season of work.”

The Dolphins have the attention of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who said he sees similarities between the Dolphins’ defense and the one he faces in practice. The Ravens’ defense is surrendering a league-low 16.3 points per game.

“The defensive line is phenomenal,” Jackson said. “[Their] secondary is phenomenal, as well, [and their] linebackers.

“Yes, I see similarities.”

ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.