Tua Tagovailoa Says Ravens Fans' Noise Contributed to 4th-Down Error in Dolphins' Loss

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Baltimore Ravens fans visiting Hard Rock Stadium in Week 9 were at least partially to blame for a false start that led to a missed Dolphins field goal in first quarter of Thursday's 28-6 loss at home.

A five-yard penalty was called on offensive lineman Larry Borom on a fourth-and-1 from Baltimore's 12-yard line. Riley Patterson then missed his ensuing 35-yard field goal attempt.

"I would say, with the Ravens fans, it maybe got a little muffled with my cadence and the crowd noise," Tagovailoa said at the 4:45 mark of the Dolphins' postgame press conference. "We kind of talked about that on the sideline after, and got that corrected."

Ravens fans made themselves known even before kickoff with their "O" during the national anthem, as shown in a video shared by ESPN's Jamison Hensley.

The visiting fans' cheering was then audible on the Prime Video broadcast as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw four touchdown passes in his return from a three-game injury absence.

The first-quarter false start wasn't the only time the Dolphins struggled on Thursday. The Ravens had started out the game by forcing a red-zone fumble early in the first quarter.

Subsequent red-zone drives by the Dolphins ended similarly, including with a fourth-down incompletion from Tagovailoa late in the second quarter and a Malik Washington fumble in the fourth. Miami finished the game having committed three turnovers and gone just 2-for-12 on third downs.

▶️ Full Ravens-Dolphins Recap

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Head coach Mike McDaniel said he understood fans' frustration when asked after the loss about his feelings on receiving boos from the home crowd.

"Fans enjoy winning, and so our expectation is that we have to do the work and do the right things for fans to enjoy the experience," McDaniel said. "And unfortunately, we didn't do that tonight. So we've got to get back to work to give them something to cheer about."

The Dolphins, who fell to 2-7 with Thursday's loss, might not be in for a friendlier home crowd when the Buffalo Bills come to town for a Week 10 matchup next Sunday. When these two teams were playing for the AFC East title late in the 2023 season, Vivid Seats projected that more than half the crowd at Hard Rock would be rooting for the Bills.