Kyler Murray's Future and Dolphins-Ravens Week 9 TNF Recap!

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0:39Off the play fake, Lamar escaping the pocket, slings it to the end zone. Touchdown, Ravens! And this time it's a receiver, Rashad Bateman. as the Ravens fans are having a party tonight in South Florida. Oh, yeah. The Ravens fans outnumbering the Dolphins fans by the end of this game, 28-6. Lamar Jackson with four touchdowns, only five incompletions. That was Jerry Sandusky on WBAL and sometimes shook. Yeah, the broadcasting call is just jumping out of the seat, But that felt very ho-hum because, let's face it, the second half of this game was rather ho-hum. Hopefully, this recap will not be. And we're going to have some fun on the back end talking a little bit about the futures of Tuatunga Bailoa, maybe some other quarterbacks that could be available this offseason.

1:36But first, we talk about the return of Lamar Jackson.

1:39Nick Shook:Yeah, and what a return it was. You know, he demonstrated his ongoing connection with Mark Andrews, which has been the backbone of their offense for years, a staple in this scheme, whether it was Greg Roman or Todd Munkin calling plays, he's always been the guy to go to. So, of course, he goes to them twice for their first two touchdowns. And, of course, he's schemed up wide open on the second one, a little mesh concept, runs two defenders into each other, Andrew's wide open, easy score. But even then, even with those two touchdown drives, the Ravens didn't really look that good in the first half.

2:08Nick Shook:The Dolphins had a shot, and they wasted that opportunity. And once the second half arrived and the Ravens come out of halftime, they just go right down the field, touchdown pass, right down the field again, touchdown pass to Rashad Bateman. Three to tight ends, one to receiver, Rashad Bateman, four total, runaway win. The Ravens, we've said this before, I guess we'll say it again. They may just be back. They are very much in the running because Lamar Jackson looks as good as he did well before he got hurt. It's so funny because going into this game, everyone's thinking, hey, the Ravens, you know, they're almost the favorites in the AFC North.

2:42Meanwhile, everyone's just assuming the Dolphins season is over. And yet they both only had two wins entering this game. And you know what? Sometimes the boneheaded consensus, just very ho-hum thinking is the right one. Yeah, the Ravens are much, much better. It was obvious. And it's a kiss of death. When you dominate half of football statistically against a superior team, like the Dolphins did in the first half of this game, it was 225 yards to 101 at halftime. And you're trailing on the scoreboard. That always corrects. It always corrects in the second half. And you described how it was. By the end of the game, even the stats are better for Baltimore.

3:24I thought coming out in the third quarter, there was a couple of key sequences there. Number one on the third and long to start the third quarter drive. Lamar Jackson actually scrambles and he really didn't all night. That was about it. And you did wonder if he felt 100 percent. You didn't get to see him let loose on that hamstring very often. But that was one play where he did scramble, picked up the first down, and then they go right down the field and end up with the Charlie Kohler touchdown. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Dolphins get the ball back. And this to me was the Dolphins in a nutshell, like their season.

4:04First down, Jonah Savanea, who's been a disaster this year. One of the worst starting offensive linemen in the league. Gives up a sack to Travis Jones. Second down, they run it on second and 17 or something. Get absolutely nothing. Felt like a give up play. And then even worse, on third down, two is throwing a check down that only would have gotten two or three yards. and that's knocked down at the line of scrimmage. And it reminded me of the Raiders a little bit from a few weeks ago. And I like to call it the I don't want to be here offense. And the Dolphins fans just let them know, just booing the hell out of them down in Miami.

4:41Nick Shook:I believe that was the moment in which four fans in the stands put the brown paper bags over their heads, which was a proper response. The funny thing is, is if you just watch that drive, you thought the Dolphins, that was their offense the entire night, and it wasn't. In fact, at times they moved the ball effortlessly. They went right down the field. It's just that once they got in or near the red zone, they self-destructed over and over again. You can go all the way back to the first half when they have three points on the board. The game is very well within reach and it's fourth and one. They're going to go for it.

5:09Nick Shook:False start, backs them up five yards. Fourth and six, settle for a field goal. Kicker misses the field goal wide right. They had multiple pre-snap penalties, delay of games, false starts, every type of procedural penalty that you can imagine, they essentially committed they couldn't get out of their own way and even when they found success they found ways to bring themselves in the opposite direction and hurt their chances they had opportunities and they blew them although i will say the one call on ollie gordon where he was flagged for a penalty that still doesn't make sense to me you could say he was tripping like that's right maybe what they might call but he slipped and fell and the edge rusher i think it's mike green the rookie leaps right over him and is unbothered and yet a flag comes out and it wipes out Tua's best throw of the night, probably their best scoring opportunity.

5:54Nick Shook:And it felt like from there, they were cooked. Yeah, that was a 50-yard completion to Waddle. Even that play, though, which was a positive play, yeah, that was what I watched on the, you know, Prime Vision. And that ball took forever to get there. And you're kind of thinking, man, if someone else would throw it there, that thing's a touchdown. A little less air. And Waddle does not have to jump up for it in a contested catch situation. But you're absolutely right. When the team isn't struggling, and that pre-snap penalty made McDaniel lose his absolute mind, they're getting bad luck on the tripping, and then it's also bad execution.

6:36And then sometimes it's just an absolutely weird play call. Let's actually listen to the Tua incompletion to Devin Achan on one of those fourth downs. This was a fourth and two later in the game.

7:08That was Jimmy Cefalo and Joe Rose on WBGG. G and yeah, you mentioned all the different ways that they managed to blow things. They were inside the 31 yard line of the Ravens six times tonight. Yeah, they got six six points that that was one of them. It's a zero blitz and they don't have a better call or a better option for Tua who had time then throwing like a slot fade to A-chan who basically gave up on the route and against Kyle Hamilton. But none of that was good.

7:41Nick Shook:I have so many thoughts about this play. I understand why you go for it here. Ideally, your kicker makes the field goal. It's 14 to nine. Maybe you settle for a field goal to make it 14 to 12. But you realize this is maybe your best scoring opportunity, at least to this point in the game. You're going to go for it. OK, gutsy call. Modern football. We're all on board with that. What we're not on board with is putting a running back in the slot and running a slot fade to him. He doesn't even know how to run a slot fade as as evidenced by that play. I mean, he never even makes it to the end zone to try to catch that ball.

8:09Nick Shook:and Mike McDaniel just looks up toward the canopy that they built over Hard Rock Stadium. Such a nice renovation they've done and just probably wondered, what, why, what did I do to deserve this? Why am I being forced to put a running back in the slot and he doesn't know how to run the route? What more can I do? And responsibility falls on him for putting him a chance in that situation and asking him to do that. But also this is professional football. And if that's the best thing that you can put out there, just kind of illustrates how bad of a situation your team's been in yeah when I look at their offense and I think about them moving forward like HN's a good player you know he ends up with 102 yards from scrimmage his explosiveness is awesome Jalen Waddle continues to produce without Tyree kill there it's six catches for 82 yards and it would have been much more if not for that bogus tripping penalty but I just think the Dolphins fans are so sick of watching this offense which are just the the same timing in cuts to waddle over and over and the timing wasn't perfect tonight there there were drops by other receivers Malik Washington with a couple fumbles in this game so that you know it was all bad you can't just pick on one particular thing I thought actually in the first half they ran the ball very well and as you mentioned like we're moving the ball well against this Ravens defense well let's let's give the Ravens a little more credit so actually you you spoke about that second touchdown to Andrews, which was, yes, it looked like a simple throw because the two defenders ran into each other.

9:41I thought it was another good game out of Todd Munkin, two straight clean weeks from this Ravens offense. The running game took a little while to get going, but Derrick Henry ends up going over 120 yards with a big second half. So that looked like a lot of Ravens games from a year ago. Slow start, but finished well. But I thought this was a beautiful throw still by Lamar Jackson. And yes, it was great to see all three tight ends with multiple catches. Let's listen to the second Andrews touchdown. Play clock at one. Lamar takes the snap. Deep drop. Lost it from the 10. Caught.

10:15Nick Shook:Andrews in. Touchdown Ravens. Two for two for Mark Andrews. A 20-yard throw, catch, and run. And the rust is gone for Lamar Jackson. That was a beautiful throw. Yeah, one thing I'd like the last couple weeks is everyone's gotten involved. Andrews is a little more juicy than I expected. Maybe the Dolphins defenders are just slow. Isaiah likely a lot of juice on one of his long yards after the catch play. And then Zay Flowers with a big play down the field. Bateman got that touch. And so I just like they're spreading out. I'm not going to overreact. But hey, Nick, like their B game is all they need to do potentially to go on a long winning streak.

10:59As long as the defense is just okay and normal, like they don't have to be great, just be okay, then I think the offense can play this sort of B game and potentially rip off a long winning streak.

11:10Nick Shook:Yeah, there were a couple of differences in this game tonight versus how they've looked with Lamar out. And obviously the return of Lamar Jackson alone opens up so many options for you. But like that play in particular, like it's a mesh concept, but the reason that it becomes a touchdown is because Andrews is able to deepen his route. It's not just like a flat drag. He's getting 10, 15 yards down the field when he's catching that ball. and because the defenders ran into each other, he's got a bunch of green grass to run through to get to the end zone. That's just a good design, right? But then you also look at the defense and you think about the players that they have missed.

11:39Nick Shook:When you watch them tonight, they did a really good job up front plugging up gaps, eating up blockers, and allowing Roquan Smith to just play really well. He was there to make a lot of key tackles, key stops. He fights through multiple blocks, shuts down a screen early in the game, shuts down a running attempt later in the game. He's been playing really well over the last couple of weeks, which is a boon for them as well. and then you know they talked about it playing on the broadcast we've heard it all over the place you know the acquisition of aloe gilman allowed them to move kyle hamilton hamilton around which he played in the box a lot tonight but he's also making plays all over the field then you got malachi starks picking off to a tongue of iloa downfield like you're starting to get some of these guys back the defense is starting to come back together and against a team like the dolphins who did move the ball well on you and weren't able to get it done a lot of self-inflicted wounds you're still the beneficiary of that.

12:24Nick Shook:The question is, going forward, when you try to compare week to week, the quality of opponent, like we look at the Ravens schedule, why could they potentially make this a run? They play the Vikings, whose offense has been dormant for a while. They play the Browns, who are one of the worst offenses in the NFL. They play the Jets. Same story, save for last week. They play the Bengals, also the same story. That's their next four. And then they play Pittsburgh, and that's their first big game in that stretch. I could see them winning all four, even if they just play like they did tonight. A B game tonight probably wins all four of those games.

12:53Nick Shook:Maybe the Vikings game is close. Maybe the Bengals game is close because it's a division rivalry. But ultimately, if this is all you have to do, if this is what you can produce in your sleep on a week-by-week basis, we're going to look at it real quick, and they're going to be 7-5. Yeah, I want to see Lamar kind of let it loose in terms of how he plays as a runner. I'm curious how the defense is going to play against better competition. We'll see where the Vikings are at for that game. The Bengals' offense is certainly playing better. I am worried that they had like a 14 % pressure rate against the Miami Dolphins.

13:24I know it's tough sometimes because Tua gets rid of the ball so quickly, but that was the weakness last week too against Chicago. They just don't have one-on-one pass rush wins. Kyle Van Noy had like one tonight. Mike Green basically didn't have any. They're not a team that gets a lot of pressure. So if you're looking for a fly in the ointment, that's it. But I'm so glad you pointed out Roquan Smith. That's the number one difference right now. He just changes their team. He did not look healthy, and he was not an effective player before he went down with that injury, and they sat him down. In the last two weeks, he's been the best player on the field, and that's a field with Kyle Hamilton, who's also been a bigger factor because of where they're using Aloy Gilman, who had the greatest thing that can happen on the field, which is he blew his assignment near the goal line, and he let Malik Washington get wide open, and then he realized that he blew it, and then he ran over and he knocked the fumble out.

14:20So it's like, you know, in the middle of that play, oh, I blew it, and then you run over, and then you save the day, and you get the turnover. So good job by Aloy Kilman on that play. But good point there on Roquan. I think that's so huge.

14:31Nick Shook:Yeah, yeah, and that's the difference that they can make. Now, you don't want to necessarily live on those thinner margins against better teams, but all we need is a demonstration that you can kind of work toward that goal, and I think that that's what we've seen from this defense over the last two weeks. I mean, I think back to the Chicago game, They had a key interception that set up a touchdown that flipped that game on side and put the Ravens in a position of command. And they've been making those plays over the last two weeks. So it's only it's a small sample size. Only one game back with Lamar.

14:58Nick Shook:By the way, did you get nervous like I did when he did run tonight? Like, especially in the fourth quarter, he had a couple of scrambles where I'm like, hey, why is he still in the game? And B, oh, my God, like, why is Derek Henry getting five carries up 28 to six just so you can go over 100? But then he went over 100 and they gave him like three or four more carries. Just just why? Just don't stop. Yeah, not necessary. We don't need this. All right, good game. And yeah, keep an eye out. Teddy Buchanan spelled like Teddy, but with an E on the end, which I like. He's kind of stabilized the linebacker position, too.

15:30He's actually looked pretty good, I think, next to Roquan. So that's like another change that they've made throughout the course of the season. That's good. Meanwhile, the Dolphins, I mean, they've been done. Would they consider changing coaches with this little extra time? we'll see they have buffalo next week with at home which is another opportunity to give up a lot of points and to get a lot of booze at home that that's potentially another spot they have three more island games this year uh i apologize to god the citizens of germany we're sending commanders dolphins there unfortunately and they have back-to-back primetime games monday night week 15 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

16:16They can flex Monday nights. Now, would they flex it when it's like one dead team versus a good team? They might not do that, but they should consider it. And then here's a game that is getting flexed. Sunday night football, Dolphins, Bengals in week 16. There's no chance that that game is going to stay.

16:35Nick Shook:I mean, unless the Bengals found themselves in a playoffs. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Yeah, you're right. They're going to do better than that for Sunday night football in week 16. The return of Joe Burrow. No, that's too good a week. Okay, you mentioned Joe Burrow. Let's talk about another quarterback, Tua Tungavailoa. As I'm watching this game, my mind starts wandering. As I'm looking through some of the news that's coming out of Arizona, my mind starts wandering to the quarterback market for 2026. I personally don't think Tua is going to be for sure on this Dolphins team. I think he'll be available at the very least.

17:10Let's take a quick break. And on the other side, we're going to talk about Tua. We're going to talk about Kyler Murray. And yeah, we might even talk about my boy, Gino, who could be available this offseason.

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18:07Nick Shook:Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremphayaRadio.com. All right, we're back on NFL Daily, and we're going to do a little news. We can do that. We're taping this Thursday night. It's been a minute since we taped that preview show, and new information is worth mentioning here. Jacoby Brissett, in the portion of practice that the Arizona Cardinals writers were able to witness, was throwing the ball to the starters, Marvin Harrison, Michael Wilson, et cetera.

18:59Kyler Murray, in the portion of practice that reporters were able to watch was throwing passes to backups and scout team guys. Okay. Kyler Murray listed as limited on the injury report. We thought he might be fully back this week. He's listed as limited. Insert Brian Wynhurst conspiracy fingers here. I don't think this is even much of a conspiracy. see. The Cardinals do not have Kyler Murray speak to the media today. He was scheduled to speak to the media. They tell the media that a quarterback press conference at a future date this week will occur. Hosted by quarterback. By the way, for what it's worth, the last couple of weeks when Jacoby Brissett did start, he did his press conference later in the week like so.

19:55it sure sounds like Kyler Murray is getting what I like to call the old JJ McCarthy little soft soft benching here that's what I'm calling it and uh I'm curious about your thoughts there and we can get into the long term of it all but maybe let's start with the short term of it all with with what's going on with the Cardinals here well Kyler you're still a little banged up you know

20:18Nick Shook:why don't you take another week off you know our offense is kind of doing better with that why don't to take another week off. We're trying to get a win here. How about consider these stats from NFL Research. Jacoby percent at a 65 completion percentage, averaged nearly 300 passing yards per game, 4-1 touchdown to interception ratio, 98.9 passer rating in his two starts. He had over 275 passing yards in each of his two starts. Kyler has not broken 220 passing yards in any of his games in 2025. Arizona averaged 20.6 points per game with Kyler Murray. in the lineup and under 300 yards per game. Weeks one to five.

20:56Nick Shook:25 points per game, 365 yards per game with Jacoby Brissett. The numbers tell you what the eyes already told you over the last two weeks, which is that this offense has been better with Jacoby Brissett at the controls. Now, this is a team that if they got to third and long, which was a common occurrence with Kyler at quarterback, they were pretty much doomed. You go back to last year, same story. They lose James Connor weeks ago, running game, a struggle. That usually would insulate Kyler in these situations. They have a better offense with Jacoby at quarterback right now, and they are a team that needs to win a football game.

21:32Nick Shook:They are two and five. They are playing a Dallas Cowboys defense that can't stop a nosebleed. Interesting. Why not keep Jacoby in and maximize your potential against a bad defense? That's I am on board with the soft benching. it's weird how it was described today we are preparing kyler as the starter but you're not gonna say he's the starter so what's the point and if you're preparing him as the starter why is he running with the twos so i make sense you know i'm hearing from a lot of cardinals fans or just general fans on twitter it's like oh he's he's just doing a smoke screen it's gonna be kyler hearing from others that it's the opposite like he's just trying to keep it vague, but yeah, it'll be Jacoby, but Kyler's hurt.

22:22They've indicated the last couple of weeks that they thought Kyler would be back for this game. He literally was on the practice field before the last game, which was before the bye week for them. This is at an absolutely crucial moment in this entire regime's run, year three, when it needs to happen. And they have a quarterback that they inherited with a massive contract. And look, I know he got that contract when they arrived, but he was there before they arrived. And you have an offensive coordinator in Drew Petsig who's familiar with Jacoby, and there was a lot of confidence. Jordan alluded to it when she went to Cardinals training camp earlier this offseason.

23:06I mean, you know, in camp, like how much they like Jacoby Brissett. I just think it's telling, and it's a huge moment for this entire regime, because they're saying when the chips are down, like this is who we want. This is who we trust to turn our season around, to save our jobs. And oh, it doesn't hurt that they're against the Cowboys on Monday night either. I mean, like the whole country is going to be watching and we're playing this cupcake defense. I mean, that would be a soft landing for Kyler to return. So I think that says a lot. And now I want to pivot to the long term of it all. I think the Cardinals are a good team that could get back in the mix, but the NFC is deeper.

23:45This isn't the AFC. It's going to be a tough road to get all the way back with their schedule. It's a brutal schedule. I don't think Kyler Murray is going to be on this team next year. And so that immediately makes him, in my mind, looking at the landscape, the most intriguing quarterback that could be available. The draft doesn't look as frisky, although obviously those guys are going to be interesting. And then the free agency and trade market is never great. And we'll talk about a few guys. I think two is one of them. but I think I think personally Kyler would have a lot of value do you agree I think it's about fit