Miami’s showdown against Baltimore at the top of the AFC turned into a coronation for the Ravens as the NFL’s best team and quarterback Lamar Jackson as the league MVP when they pummeled the Dolphins 56-19 on Sunday.

It couldn’t have gone much worse for Miami – except that it nearly did.

The lopsided contest locked up the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed and accompanying first-round bye and homefield advantage for Baltimore and put the Dolphins in danger of starting the postseason on the road. Adding to the bad news for Miami: Bradley Chubb, the team leader in sacks, was carted off the field with a knee injury.

But before Chubb got hurt, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa came up favoring his throwing shoulder after an unsuccessful fourth-down run with 7:55 to play, and he did not return to the game.

But after the game, the former Alabama All-American described his left shoulder as sore but good.

With an 11-4 record, Miami entered the game trying to reel in the 12-3 Ravens for the top spot in the AFC. But the loss and the Buffalo Bills’ 27-21 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday put the Dolphins in another showdown game next week. At 10-6, the Bills can take the AFC East winner’s first-round home playoff game away from Miami with a victory in the regular-season finale, relegating the Dolphins to wild-card status and a first-round road game.

“If you have the perspective of things could be worse,” Tagovailoa said, “we could not have clinched the playoff berth, we could not have been playing in a game like that that mattered for positioning with the seeding. If you think if it like that, we’re right where we need to be as a team regardless of the outcome today, and we’ll be better from it. And, hopefully, we get to see these guys again.”

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The game had a much rosier start than finish for the Dolphins. Playing without NFL touchdown leader Raheem Mostert and 1,000-yard receiver Jaylen Waddle because of injuries, Miami moved 75 yards in eight plays on the game’s first series. Tagovailoa completed 4-of-5 passes for 61 yards on the drive, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson.

After Jackson ended Baltimore’s first possession with a touchdown pass, Miami moved down the field again. But this time, Tyreek Hill, the NFL’s leading receiver, dropped a third-down pass in the end zone, and the Dolphins settled for a field goal.

Jackson would go on to throw for four more touchdowns as he piled up 321 passing yards. Tagovailoa would have another TD pass dropped as he finished 22-of-38 passing for 237 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tagovailoa had not been intercepted in the previous four games.

“It’s just staying consistent,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s what this league’s about — who can stay consistent the longest. And we weren’t able to put good drives together for a long period of time. We just got to be better in that sense.”

Tagovailoa said the Dolphins would not be deflated by the loss because “everything’s still in front of us for what we want to accomplish as a team.”

“You got a lot of leaders and a lot of the guys stepping up to get our guys going for next week and the games to follow,” Tagovailoa said. “We still got a lot of football left to play.”

The Dolphins and Bills will square off on Jan. 7 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Kickoff time has not been set.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.