Backup QB Rosen can’t provide spark off the bench

One could forgive Josh Rosen if on Sunday he felt a little bit like Dante from the 1990s raunch-com “Clerks.”

You know, the hard-luck convenience store employee who kept saying, “I’m not even supposed to be here today”?

Or in Rosen’s case, “I’m not even supposed to be on the field today.”

And yet, 10 days after losing the starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick, play Rosen did — in pretty much the least desirable situation.

Brian Flores sent Rosen into Miami Dolphins’ blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday with 22 seconds left in the third quarter and Miami down six touchdowns.

The Dolphins were hoping for a spark. It was more like a fizzle.

In his two series on the field, Rosen had as many sacks and interceptions as he had completions — one.

The Dolphins gained zero net yards during that stretch. The Dolphins had the ball for a grand total of 1:31 in the fourth quarter.

“Just excited to get back on the field,” Rosen said. “It’s been a while since I played a regular season game. I saw this as another opportunity to show what I can do. I don’t think I did that, which is why I was kind of disappointed in the moment.”

Rosen’s pick came on a play in which he was flushed to his right. He tried to target Jakeem Grant on the sideline, but threw the ball late and had it intercepted by Marlon Humphrey.

When asked if he should have been inserted into the game earlier, Rosen responded: “It’s not my call. I’ve got to seize the opportunities and I didn’t do that. So I’m just as disappointed in myself as anything. Get better, work harder, and make next week better.”

Flores told reporters after the game that Fitzpatrick will start next Sunday against the Patriots.

FITZPATRICK ON LOSS

A year ago, Fitzpatrick was living his best life.

Fifty-two weeks later, he was running for it.

Fitzpatrick’s Dolphins debut was nothing like his 2018 opener, when he had a monster game for the Buccaneers. But that team had Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson.

The Dolphins’ leading receiver Sunday had three catches.

And an offensive line that couldn’t stop anyone.

The result: The most lopsided regular-season loss in the franchise’s 54-year history.

“It’s never good to be embarrassed like that, especially at this level,” Fitzpatrick said. “What we had talked about — nobody is going to feel sorry for you and your situation. That’s what happens. You go out there and if you don’t execute, you’re going to get beat bad like that. Obviously we need to play better, which is an understatement.”

Collectively and individually.

When the game was still in doubt, Fitzpatrick threw a bad pick into double — if not triple —coverage. Earl Thomas jumped Kenyan Drake’s seam route and made the play.

The next time the Dolphins got the ball, they were down 21 points. The running game, which was supposed to be Fitzpatrick’s ally, was basically done for the day. Before getting pulled in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick completed 14 of 29 passes for 185 yards. He had a touchdown to Preston Williams to go along with his pick.

But he was also under constant duress. The Dolphins’ offensive line, which started two players who weren’t even on the roster two weeks ago, allowed three sacks, six tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hits.

“Obviously we all had a much different outcome dreamed about in our head of how it was going to go today,” Fitzpatrick said, “and I think the only thing we can do moving forward is continue to try to string good practices together and continue to keep a positive attitude, and in doing that, hope that the results follow.”

FAKE PUNT

The cruelest bit of unnecessary punishment the Dolphins’ received in their thrashing came courtesy of Baltimore’s punt unit.

The Ravens, already ahead 35-3 in the second quarter, lined up to punt with about three minutes left in the half and saw an opening in the middle of Miami’s return unit. Lined up as one of the punt protectors, Anthony Levine took a direct snap and charged up the middle for 60 yards and a first down. Three plays later, quarterback Lamar Jackson hooked up with tight end Mark Andrews for the Ravens’ sixth touchdown of the half.

John Harbaugh defended the somewhat unusual play call after the game. Baltimore saw the play available, so it took it.

“It’s there. That’s what we do. You play football,” the Ravens coach said. “There’s a lot of time left in the game and if they’re going to give us an opportunity to run a play, we just want to make sure it’s executed well, so it’s no different than throwing a pass or anything else we want to do.”

Special teams were as much a debacle as offense and defense for the Dolphins. The only other time Baltimore lined up to punt, punter Sam Koch boomed a kick 56 yards down the field and wide receiver Jakeem Grant muffed it. Three plays later, Jackson hit wide receiver Miles Boykin for a touchdown to put the Ravens ahead 35-3.

Miami couldn’t even be miffed about the fake after the game. Flores and Harbaugh had a cordial exchange at the end of the game, even after the Ravens kept passing inside the final two minutes of the biggest blowout in Dolphins history. There was only one scrum of any sort of significance, lasting just a few seconds in the waning moments of the first half.

After the game, there weren’t hard feelings about the decision, either. As one player put it privately: “I’d ... do that against us, too.”