The Miami Dolphins come into Baltimore to face the reeling Ravens on Thursday Night Football. Can the Ravens turn their season around? RSR staff give our predictions here…
Tony Lombardi
The Dolphins have the league’s 5th best rushing defense. They have Ndamukong Suh in the middle of their defensive front and Jermaine Eluemunor will think he’s living a nightmare trying to block King Kong. Add it up and the Dolphins will do to the Ravens offense what the Vikings did four days ago – in other words make them one-dimensional.
Or is that no-dimensional?
The Ravens passing game won’t be mistaken for the Don Coryell Chargers of the 80’s. If they’re lucky they might resemble the Ravens passing attack from 2000. It won’t be pretty. Who is left to catch passes? Will Qadry Ismail dress tonight?
The Miami offense is a clunker as well but Matt Moore is a breath of fresh air for the Fins and along with the help of Jay Ajayi, he’ll make them at least respectable.
Here’s what you can expect:
— Ajayi cracks 100 yards and scores his first TD of the season.
— Kenny Stills breaks free for a big play that goes for a score when Tony Jefferson fails to roll over in coverage to support his corner.
— Suh gets 1 ½ sacks
— Nick Boyle scores the Ravens’ only touchdown during dink and dunk mop up time in front of roughly 25,000 fans. The other half will have left long before.
— John Harbaugh states that the quasi-bye week will help them right the ship and prepare for a better second half of the season.
— Joe Flacco says, “We just have to put this one behind us and get ready for the next game.” He’ll be pumped up to use his M&T Visa card at the mall.
Dolphins 20, Ravens 16
Todd Karpovich
— The is essentially a must-win game for the Ravens and they will play with a sense of urgency.
— The defense allows 100 rushing yards for the sixth consecutive game, but mainly because Miami will keep the ball on the ground with Matt Moore at quarterback.
— Quarterback Joe Flacco has modest numbers once again, sticking mostly to short and intermediate passes because of his banged-up group of wide receivers.
— Justin Tucker remains the busiest player on the roster with three field goals.
Final: Ravens 23, Dolphins 17
Ryan Jones
This offense has just looked so awful the last two games it’s hard to imagine anything changing on a short week. Whether it’s a lack of weapons or not being 100 percent healthy Flacco doesn’t look right physically. And based on his comments earlier this week that sometimes kicking field goals is winning football his confidence is shaken as well. He’s clearly struggling mentally at this point also.
Defensively the Ravens have struggled with backup, gunslinging quarterbacks with nothing to lose in the past. Remember last year when Josh McCown threw for over 400 yards? I don’t think Matt Moore will have those types of numbers but I don’t think he’ll be far off either.
The season continues to unravel and frustrations continue to grow.
Dolphins 28
Ravens 13
Derek Arnold
Last year, the Dolphins were just what the doctor ordered to fix the Ravens’ struggling offense – for one week, anyway. I don’t know if they’ve shored up their middle-of-the-field coverage or not (according to Dev, kinda), but Dennis Pitta absolutely feasted (9 catches, 90 yards) when Miami last brought their goofy teal pants to B’More. Flacco completed 36 passes for 381 yards. Pitta obviously isn’t available, and Maxx Williams is unfortunately out as well, but Benjamin Watson and Nick Boyle should be able to do some damage. If Jeremy Maclin and Mike Wallace are on the field, I think the Ravens offense actually moves the ball tonight, thanks to the sense of urgency Todd mentioned above.
Moore worries me; I wish Jay Cutler was playing. Moore will test the Ravens’ secondary down the field – how well they hold up could be one of the biggest keys of the game, as I think the run defense finally says enough is enough and bottles up Ajayi.
Statistically, these are the worst two offenses in the NFL. They won’t look like it tonight.
Ravens 26 Dolphins 23
Adam Bonaccorsi
The Fins will do to the Ravens as the Vikes did the week before, and the Bears before that- RUN RUN RUN.
Why bother throwing on the Ravens if they can’t stop the run? Take an occasional downfield shot to stretch the D, then keep on running…
On offense the Ravens will do what they’ve done since leaving Oakland.
NOTHING.
5 receivers hurt, the offensive line is still struggling, Flacco’s quick trigger has been detrimental, and without any attempts downfield, defenses are closing in on the Ravens run game and stuffing them up.
-The Ravens will have more 3 & outs than scoring drives tonight.
–Alex Collins will have his first fumble in weeks, allowing John Harbaugh to find a scapegoat for offensive woes in lieu of coaching concerns.
-Flacco throws a pair of picks- neither on deflections this week.
–Jay Ajayi will rush for 150 yards & 2 goal line TD’s
-Matt Moore will throw for 150 yards on minimal throws, but find the end zone regardless.
-Nobody gets fired after another piss poor game all around.
BAL 13
MIA 27
Joe Polek
Miami always seems to give the Ravens fits. The regular season series between these two teams is tied 6-6, with the most notable game coming back in 2007, when the Ravens fell to the Dolphins in December, which was Miami’s only win of that entire season.
The Dolphins started terribly this season, but lately have found ways to win. Defensively, they are ranked 7th, led by a tough run D. Offensively, they are dead last in the NFL in total yards.
So if you thought the last two games for the Ravens were ugly, this could be another one. Two teams that can’t move the ball offensively. The Ravens are going to have to find a way to make Matt Moore make mistakes, but I have a feeling the Dolphins won’t let him, as they will rely on the run game, which should have its way with a soft Baltimore D.
But somehow, I believe Baltimore finds a way.
Ravens win 17-13.
Brian McFarland
This is the kind of game that very well may go a long way towards determining John Harbaugh’s fate. In what is now essentially a must-win game at home, another listless, disinterested effort will make it more and more clear that Harbaugh’s time in Baltimore has come to an end.
However, if the team rallies and plays up to it’s potential – even in a loss – Harbaugh can at least say that the team hasn’t quit on him. But, at some point they are likely going to need to stack good games – and wins – to ensure Harbaugh gets a chance to return.
The Ravens have always been a tough match for the Dolphins (Ravens are 7-2 in last 9 games) and Miami has often not been able to match the physicality of the Ravens (including last season’s 38-6 pummeling). But, with the Ravens’ run D looking so horrible, this could be the year that the Dolphins actually bring it to the Ravens, especially since they likely to want to limit the number of throws by back-up QB Matt Moore.
No prediction. I do expect that the Ravens will come out and play well and if they can stop the Dolphins’ running game, they should win. But, nothing has come easy for this team, so I expect the game to come down to a last second FG.
Hopefully, it’s Tucker taking that kick!
John Darcey
— Joe Flacco will be sacked six times as the Miami defensive line will dominate the Ravens JV O-line.
— Galvin Escobar finds the end zone in his first game leading fans to scream, “Ozzie still has it!!”
— Jay Ajayi becomes the third straight RB to rush for over 100 yards on the Ravens and for a fantasy spin will be the third straight RB to rack up 20 points.
— Joe Flacco will throw a ball right into Breshad Perriman’s hands tonight, and wait for it, he will catch it!
— The Ravens under Harbaugh always seem to win on Thursday nights and for whatever reason they have the Dolphins’ number, so I am going with Ravens: 17 Dolphins: 13
— On the flip side if the Ravens do lose tonight, and the defense gets carved up again, Dean “Swiss” Pees will be out of a job and the Ravens promote Don Martindale.
