The Baltimore Ravens hope to continue their momentum after Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears into Thursday’s showdown against the Miami Dolphins. Baltimore Beatdown staff makes bold predictions about the AFC match.
Lamar Jackson’s return to the Ravens offensive line is a huge boost, even though he will have to shake off some rust during his first game in more than a month. Jackson slashes through the Dolphins’ secondary in the spirit of Halloween. Zay Flowers has a great first game for Miami. He scores and goes over 100 yards, the first time he’s done so since Week 1, when he scored against the Buffalo Bills. Derrick Henry is gaining momentum on the ground, as he surpasses 100 yards in his second game of the season. He also scores another touchdown.
Malaki Starks, a fellow rookie, made his debut Thursday with his first interception against TuaTagovailoa. Kyle Hamilton is a wrecking ball up front. He notches two sacks with well-timed rushes. Baltimore moves to 3-5 after a 27-24 win. Dustin Cox
De’Von Achane, Jaylen Wade and others test Baltimore’s defensive line and are successful in the passing game. However, they cannot overcome the Ravens’ running attack led by Derrick Henry’s 100+ yard performance. Lamar Jackson plays a clean and healthy game. Ravens win by 31-14. Mark Myers
The Ravens scored a defensive touchdown.
The defense has had a turbulent start to the year, but after moving safety Kyle Hamilton nearer to the line, they have temporarily halted the bleeding. Zach Orr’s pressure packages are a nice way to shock opposing quarterbacks, even though the Ravens have a major problem with pass rush. Hamilton will strip sack Dolphins quarterback TuaTagovailoa on Thursday. The Ravens will then run the sack back for a touchdown. – Stephen Bopst
Last week, the Dolphins also ended their losing streak. The Dolphins’ performance against Kirk Cousins wasn’t as impressive as their offensive output against the top-ranked Falcons Defense. Baltimore still has some problems in Miami. Mike McDaniels is more prepared to have Nate Wiggins follow Jaylen waddle. He will also design plays for De’Von Achane and Nate Wiggins that will produce some explosives during the first half. The Ravens give up a long touchdown, but they will otherwise hold on in the red area for the majority of the game until Malaki Starks makes his first interception after Tua Tagovailoa throws an errant pass. Jackson’s return adds to Baltimore’s positive offensive steps from last week. He tears through Miami’s weak secondary, racking up over 300 yards through the air and scoring three touchdowns. Keaton Mitchel is the one to score a big touchdown this week. Derrick Henry surpasses 100 yards rushing once again. 31-20 Ravens. – Nikhil Mehta
The Dolphins are either really good or really bad. Lamar Jackson is back in Miami in a big way. He throws a classic Jackson Five. Rashod bateman, DeAndres Hopkins and Patrick Ricard each receive one. Keaton Mitchel also gets a chance to shine next to Derrick Henry. His snap count has increased after his Bears’ performance. De’Von Achane and Keaton Mitchell are two of the fastest running backs in the NFL.
The defense is continuing their Chicago performance but with more sacks. Tua Tagovailoa can’t escape the pressure as Caleb Williams did, so the Ravens are converting more sacks than intentional grounding penalties. Travis Jones and Mike Green each get a sack. Nate Wiggins becomes a star after running all day with Waddle, displaying his speed, and containing him. – Zach Canter