Lamar Jackson set to return as Ravens face Dolphins on Thursday night
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Audio By Carbonatix
12:48 PM on Wednesday, October 29
By The Associated Press
Baltimore (2-5) at Miami (2-6)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Prime Video.
BetMGM line: Ravens by 7 1/2
Against the spread: Ravens 2-5; Dolphins 3-4.
Series record: Ravens lead 9-8.
Last meeting: Ravens beat Dolphins 56-19 in Baltimore on Dec. 31, 2023.
Last week: Ravens beat Bears 30-16, Dolphins beat Falcons 34-10.
Ravens offense: overall (21), rush (8), pass (28), scoring (14)
Ravens defense: overall (28), rush (23), pass (28), scoring (30)
Dolphins offense: overall (28), rush (23), pass (26), scoring (21t)
Dolphins defense: overall (23), rush (28), pass (11), scoring (26t)
Turnover differential: Ravens minus-6; Dolphins minus-5.
QB Lamar Jackson is expected back from the hamstring injury that kept him out three games. His career passer rating of 142.7 against the Dolphins is easily his highest vs. any team, but Baltimore went only 2-2 in those games. Jackson, who is from southeast Florida, has thrown 14 touchdowns and one interception against Miami.
QB Tua Tagovailoa. He's coming off his best game of the season against the Falcons, completing 20 of 26 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns, spreading the ball to seven different receivers. All that came while he was wearing a helmet visor to protect his left eye, which was swollen shut because of an illness. Tagovailoa said he plans to continue wearing the visor even when his eye fully heals. He has thrown eight touchdowns in three games against Baltimore.
QB Lamar Jackson vs Miami's defense. The Dolphins have struggled both against the run and against mobile quarterbacks this season — not an ideal formula against the most dynamic quarterback in the NFL. Dolphins defenders said this week that discipline and sticking to their assignments will be key against Jackson, who has passed for 639 yards and rushed for 154 in his past two games against Miami.
Ravens: Not only is Jackson expected back, but the Ravens had the whole 53-man roster practicing this week, although T Ronnie Stanley (ankle) was limited.
Dolphins: S Ashtyn Davis is dealing with a quad injury that puts is status in jeopardy because of the short week. ... TE Julian Hill missed last week because of an ankle injury and has not practiced this week. ... LB Bradley Chubb (shoulder/foot) was limited but said he plans to play. ... S Ifeatu Melifonwu (thumb), and WR Dee Eskridge (shoulder) were limited.
The Dolphins are 6-4 at home vs the Ravens and have won two of the past three. ... QB Tua Tagovailoa passed for a career-high 469 yards and six touchdowns in the 2022 victory over the Ravens. His 469 passing yards are fourth most in a single game in team history, and his six touchdowns tied the franchise record. ... The Ravens are 8-3 against Miami under head coach John Harbaugh. In the postseason, Baltimore is 2-0 against the Dolphins, with both games taking place in Miami.
Baltimore’s next five opponents are a combined 11-28. ... The Ravens have an NFL-best four touchdown runs of at least 20 yards. ... Baltimore is 11-5 in Thursday night games under coach John Harbaugh. ... Derrick Henry of the Ravens needs 67 yards rushing to reach 12,000. He’d be the 17th running back to make it to that milestone. ... Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews is 39 yards shy of the franchise record for yards receiving. Wide receiver Derrick Mason set that mark at 5,777. ... Ravens receiver DeAndre Hopkins is seven receptions shy of 1,000. ... Baltimore is hoping to become the fifth team since the merger to make the playoffs after starting 1-5. ... The Ravens have allowed 33 points in the past two games after yielding 177 through their first five. ... This is the first of three straight road games for Baltimore after playing five of its first seven at home. ... The Dolphins are ninth in the NFL in third down offense (41.2%) and third in short-yardage third down conversions (73.7%). ... Miami’s defense is ranked sixth in the red zone (51.5%). ... Miami is one of only four teams in the league this season with a 100% goal-to-go efficiency rate, finding the end zone in all 12 of its goal-to-go situations. ... LB Jordyn Brooks continues to lead the league in tackles with 85. Brooks was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after getting 10 tackles (seven solo), one sack and three tackles for loss in Miami’s 34-10 victory over the Falcons on Sunday. Six of his tackles, the sack and the three tackles for loss came in the first half, making Brooks the only NFL player this season to have such a stat line in a single half and the first Dolphins player to do so since Ndamukong Suh against Philadelphia in 2015. ... The Dolphins limited the Falcons fourth-ranked rushing attack to 45 rushing yards, the fewest allowed by Miami since holding the N.Y. Jets to 23 in 2023.
Dolphins running back De'Von Achane has scored in six of eight games this season, and he could be in for a big game against Baltimore's defense. His seven touchdowns from scrimmage are tied for fourth and his four receiving scores are the most among running backs in the NFL this season.
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