Ravens Saving Their Season While Dolphins Barreling Toward Firing Mike McDaniel

This is the difference between an NFL team with a foundation built on toughness and resilience and a team whose culture is broken and will soon be replaced. The Baltimore Ravens blew out the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.

And the contrast between the two clubs is as clear now as this 28-6 result and what will eventually happen when the stories of their 2025 season is written:

Oct 30, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar (88) reacts after catching a pass for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ravens Have Corrected Course

The Ravens, winners of two games in five days, have found their identity and are setting themselves for a playoff push. The Dolphins are lost and bracing for a top-to-bottom reset that NFL sources expect will cost coach Mike McDaniel his job – perhaps sooner rather than later.

The differences cannot be more stark.

And they are reflected everywhere. 

The scoreboard on Thursday told the story of a Baltimore blowout. But the play pointed to a Ravens team that welcomed back quarterback Lamar Jackson with a four-touchdown performance after he spent a month sidelined recovering from a hamstring injury.

It told the story of a Baltimore defense that is no longer giving up big chunk plays and instead finding turnovers – three this game – in solving problems seen since the season's start.

Dolphins Prep Criticized By Experts

The play also pointed to a Dolphins team that was in disarray. And mistake-prone. And perhaps poorly prepared. 

McDaniel would argue that last point. He did exactly that in his postgame press conference, in fact, when he said the game plan was good and the team came to play. Both those statements suggest he thinks he's doing a good job preparing his team.

But across social media, former players saw leaks in Miami's offensive and defensive preparation. Former Super Bowl quarterback Rich Gannon was puzzled by Tua Tagovailoa's inability to read the defense before the snap.

Dolphins Film Preparation Questioned

And former Super Bowl champion linebacker Seth Joyner similarly explained the Dolphins weren't picking up on telltale signs from the Baltimore defense that would have helped.

"What film did you guys watch leading up to this game?" Joyner asked in frustration.

This game put the microscope on the two head coaches and their staffs. They both had a short week to prepare amid uncomfortable circumstances.

The Ravens are facing an NFL investigation and a record that had put them in third-place of a four-team AFC North.

The Dolphins are facing questions about their culture and leadership, and players quitting on the season.

Oct 30, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh stands on the sidelines prior to a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Harbaugh Gets Biblical

And the blowout result was only the surface suggestion John Harbaugh is figuring things out. And McDaniel is merely making excuses and deflecting blame.

After the game, Harbaugh shared with reporters what he told his players. He told them about Psalms 91.

"It’s what I told the team," Harbaugh said. "This is the warrior’s song. This is something we had talked about. It basically says, ‘You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness. It will not come near you, because you have made the Lord your dwelling place.’

"Our guys kept faith, and they showed a lot of toughness, a lot of courage, faith and guts, and that’s what it takes. It takes belief, and it takes toughness. It takes faith, and it takes guts, and I’m proud of our guys for that. 

"We had two games that we needed to win in [five] days, and they were absolute must-wins, both of those two games. For our guys to step up the way they did, and to step out the way they did, and play the kind of football they did with their backs to the wall – on the canvas – and to get back up and do what they did, is commendable."

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 30: Head coach Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins looks on against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter in the game at Hard Rock Stadium on October 30, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

McDaniel Defends Himself

The message wasn't quite so inspiring from McDaniel, who is fighting to keep his job but is losing the battle and, again, is headed toward a dismissal.

Reading between the lines of his postgame assessment was like reading a defense transcript for a prisoner on trial – which, as far as McDaniel's employment is concerned, is exactly his situation. 

The Dolphins coach did a lot of pointing to player execution and mistakes and "self-inflicted wounds" that sounded a bit like he was separating his work, which is to prepare the talent, from that talent's on-field production.

McDaniel talked about the turnovers (players' fault) and turning the ball over on downs in the red zone (players' fault) and a missed field goal (players' fault).

And his recipe for a course correction? He put it on the players.

"[We will] rely on the leaders and the captains to show the way," he said, "and everybody to tighten up their game and press forward to go get that next win."

The Dolphins play the division-leading Buffalo Bills next, so good luck with that.