The Baltimore Ravens’ offense was clicking, but their defense was not as they suffered a come-from-behind loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. With that loss, the Ravens fell behind a game and a half to AFC North leaders, the Bengals. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins shook off a slow start to edge past the struggling New York Jets on Monday Night Football to keep their postseason hopes alive.
The two playoff hopefuls now meet in a crucial game in the AFC playoff hunt. For more on the exciting Week 14 NFL action full of playoff implications, check out our complete previews for the Seahawks vs. Eagles and Chiefs vs. Cardinals games.
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins Preview
Where: Sun Life Stadium, Miami
When: Sunday, December 7, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Baltimore Ravens (+3) at Miami Dolphins (-3); total 45.0 – view all NFL lines
Betting on the Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns, running back Justin Forsett rushed for 106 yards and wide receiver Torrey Smith hauled in two scoring passes, but Baltimore suffered a come-from-behind 34-33 loss to San Diego on Sunday.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Shaky play from the Baltimore secondary was to blame for their late-game collapse as they allowed two fourth quarter touchdowns from San Diego’s Philip Rivers. Missing their top cornerback Jimmy Smith, the Ravens have fielded the struggling Ladarius Webb (ranked 203rd out of 214 cornerbacks as per Pro Football Focus) and converted safety Anthony Levine as their cornerbacks.
With a questionable secondary, the Ravens have surrendered an average of 381 passing yards and 12 total touchdowns against strong-armed quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Rivers in the past four weeks.
Baltimore won’t face a gunslinging quarterback in Miami’s Ryan Tannehill. But they still need to be on their toes, as the Miami quarterback has been very efficient completing 72.3 percent of his passes in the past five games while owning a 3:1 touchdown to interception ratio.
The Ravens may not see too much of Tannehill, especially if they can milk the clock with their vaunted running game. Forsett has owned Baltimore’s backfield with three straight 100-yard games and four scores in the past three weeks. He should be able to get past a Miami defense which struggled to contain a run-heavy offense from the Jets on Monday night. The Dolphins allowed 277 rushing yards on 49 New York rush attempts.
The Ravens are 3-1 ATS following a loss.
Betting on the Miami Dolphins
Caleb Sturgis’ 26-yard field goal kept Miami’s playoff push alive as the Dolphins rallied to a 16-13 win over the Jets on Monday night. Running back Lamar Miller had tied the game with a four-yard touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter and rookie wide receiver Jarvis Landry had a season-high eight catches for 68 yards to help the Dolphins complete the come-from-behind victory.
Miller may have a decrease in production against Baltimore’s excellent rushing defense (average of 86.2 yards allowed). Still, the Dolphins have a hole to exploit in the Ravens’ porous pass defense, which has allowed the second-most passing yards in the league (273.9 yards per game).
While Tannehill and his receiving corps may rack up the yards against Baltimore, they could find it difficult to score against the Ravens’ seventh-ranked scoring defense (20.2 points per game). The Dolphins also have problems finding the end zone, ranking 25th in the league in red zone scoring percentage with only 50 percent of their red zone attempts resulting in touchdowns this season.
On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins have a suffocating secondary that could limit Baltimore’s Flacco and his receiving corps. Cornerback Brent Grimes has recorded team-highs of 12 passes defended and five interceptions. Meanwhile, strong safety Reshad Jones has three interceptions this season, one of which prevented New York from setting up a game-tying field goal to force overtime on Monday night.
The total has gone under in six of the Dolphins’ last seven games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Ravens’ running game helps them edge past the Dolphins. Create a betting account now and stake your claim on this crucial AFC showdown.
