Baltimore Ravens vs Miami Dolphins: Game Preview
I believe it summed things up pretty well earlier this week when I stated that this is a must-win game for the Baltimore Ravens. However, not only is it a must-win game for Baltimore, but it might very well be a must-win for the Miami Dolphins as well.
Both teams currently hold records of 7-5 and neither team wants to have the disadvantage in the tiebreaker. Whichever team loses will have that disadvantage.
With that being said, this is going to be a hard-fought battle. We will have two good teams, and two tough defenses going up against each other on Sunday.
Speaking of defense, did you know that the Dolphins defense ranks sixth overall in the league? While that is a number that should be noticed for the Ravens, their 2nd-ranked passing defense should scare Baltimore even more.
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Joe Flacco will be facing his toughest task of the season in Week 14. He has been displaying his most efficient football here in 2014, so let’s see if he can continue to do so against this fierce Dolphins passing defense.
Starting running back Justin Forsett, however, should not have such a tough time against this defense. Miami’s front seven has been banged up all season, and they rank 20th in the league by giving up 1,423 yards on the ground. Forsett is fourth in the league in total rushing yards and has averaged more yards per carry than any running back in the league, so Baltimore should have the advantage there.
As for the rushing game of Miami, Lamar Miller has done a very nice job as the starting running back for the Dolphins. He is 12th in the league with 729 yards on 150 carries, but he will be going up against the 4th-ranked rushing defense in the league. If there’s anything that this Ravens defense can do, it’s stop the run.
They did lose a key piece on the defensive line this week, as starting nose tackle Haloti Ngata was suspended four games for the use of Adderall. However, the Ravens have a lot of depth up front, so I don’t think too much concern should come out of this.
The bottom line is this: Both teams want to win this game badly, and both teams are going to fight extremely hard to accomplish that. I call it a must-win, and you can call it whatever you want, but at the end of the day, no one will enjoy losing this game.