Mallet, starting offense turn in uneven efforts
27 yards. Otherwise, neither he nor the starting offense was able to ease any concerns about the play of the unit with Flacco sidelined in what was a hard-towatch first half, made worse by deplorable field conditions.
Josh Woodrum came in and led the Ravens to three second-half scoring drives to turn the game into a rout. He finalized two of the drives with touchdown runs, scoring from 14 yards and 1 yard out. The Ravens scored the game’s final 31 points.
Before being relieved by Woodrum, Mallett completed 13 of 22 passes for 113 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He easily could’ve been picked off four times if Dolphins defenders would have held onto the ball.
His first interception was on a deep route down the far sideline. Miami cornerback Xavien Howard had inside position on undrafted rookie Quincy Adeboyejo and easily made the play. On his second pick, Mallett threw a slant behind Adeboyejo who had the ball wrestled out of his hands by Cordrea Tankersley.
Unlike last week, Mallett was at least able to make a few plays down the field. He hit Wallace for completions of 19 and 14 yards. Tight end Benjamin Watson got in the act with an11-yard completion for a first down. However, Mallett still struggled with his accuracy and didn’t look overly comfortable in the pocket.
In two preseason games, Mallett has completed 22 of 40 passing attempts for 171 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He’s expected to start again next week in the third preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
“I’m always for pushing the ball down the field,” Wallace said. “I just want to make plays that are smart and move the ball. When we have an opportunity to make those chunk plays, we need to get that thing going.”
Mallett was hardly alone in his struggles Thursday. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg was pleased that the Ravens had no pre-snap penalties in last week’s preseason opener against the Washington Redskins. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was pleased that his team played winning football.
But that was not the case Thursday. Both Wallace and running back Terrance West fumbled in the first half, although the Ravens got both balls back. The Ravens couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-2 at the Dolphins 41-yard line on their first drive as Mallett threw incomplete to Danny Woodhead.
The interior of the line — starting guards Jarrod Pughsley and Matt Skura, and center Ryan Jensen — were frequently pushed back, leaving little running room for West. Starting tackles Austin Howard and James Hurst, and Skura were all called for holding penalties while Skura was also flagged for a false start.
That the Ravens scored 13 points was mostly because of shoddy special teams play by the Dolphins. That was exemplified by one stretch late in the third quarter after Tucker put the Ravens on the board with a 52-yard field goal, an impressive kick given the awful field conditions. Ravens tight end Larry Donnell celebrates after converting a two-point-conversion, during the second half of a victory over the Dolphins.