Thursday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins Betting Preview

Thursday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins Betting Preview

Barry Devoe
2 years ago
2 min read

Week 10 of the NFL season kicks off with Thursday Night Football, which features the Baltimore Ravens going to Miami to take on the Dolphins.

Baltimore enters this game as a 7.5-point favorite, as the Ravens are expected to take care of business and move to 7-2 on the year. But Miami is fresh off of a rare victory last week and will look to keep their momentum going at home on a short week of rest for both teams.

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore won a thrilling overtime game last week, beating the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 34-31. In a back and forth game, the Ravens managed to make the plays they needed to down the stretch, with Baltimore coming back from a 24-10 second-half deficit to come away with the win. This week, Baltimore is expected to have an easier game against the Dolphins, but they will need their defense to improve for that to be the case.

Baltimore has allowed an average of 36 points per game over its last two games. After giving up 41 points to the Bengals and 31 points to the Vikings, a game against the Dolphins is anything but a given, even if their records this season would suggest an easy victory for Baltimore. And with less rest than normal for the struggling Ravens defense, it is possible that things get even worse for them on South Beach.

Miami Dolphins

Last week, the Miami Dolphins broke a seven-game losing streak, picking up their second win of the year by beating the Houston Texans. Miami’s performance was far from convincing in that game, with the Dolphins scoring just 17 points, but their defense held Houston to nine points and prevented them from getting anything going for the bulk of the game. Miami’s defense will face a much tougher test against the Ravens this week.

For the Dolphins, the question coming into this game will be whether or not their offense can step up to keep up with Baltimore’s potent attack.

Miami has been held to 20 or fewer points in five of their last six games, as they have dealt with quarterback injuries and ineffective quarterback play throughout the season. Against Baltimore, they will need points to keep up with Lamar Jackson.

Keys to the Game

The biggest key to this game for the Ravens is going to be avoiding mistakes on both sides of the ball. Baltimore has Miami beat in just about every phase of the game from a talent perspective, but it takes execution along with that talent in order to win in this league. The execution by the Ravens’ defense has been woeful and could cost them the game if they are not careful.

For Miami, the key to this game is its quarterback play. Tua Tagovailoa is questionable for this contest for the Dolphins, as he is dealing with a finger injury. Whether it is Tagovailoa or Jacoby Brissett who slots into the starting role at quarterback for the Dolphins this week, they are going to need to raise their level of play for Miami to have a chance.

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