The Miami Dolphins are traveling to Maryland to take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon for a Week 2 matchup.
Both teams enter this weekend with a chance to improve to 2-0 and be at the top of their respective divisions, but if they lose they may also fall behind a team. In the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers both one their first games, and in the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills did the same.
Here are a few things that the Dolphins and Ravens fanbases should know and think about before the game.
Rankings
Points scored per game (2021/2022)
- Baltimore (22.8 – 17th / 24.0 – 9th)
- Miami (20.1 – 22nd / 20.0 – 17th)
Points allowed per game (2021/2022)
- Baltimore (23.1 – 18th / 9.0 – 4th)
- Miami (21.9 – 15th / 7.0 – 2nd)
Yards gained per game (2021/2022)
- Baltimore (378.8 – 6th / 274.0 – 25th)
- Miami (307.0 – 25th / 307.0 – 22nd)
Yards allowed per game (2021/2022)
- Baltimore (363.4 – 24th / 380.0 – 19th)
- Miami (337.5 – 16th / 271.0 – 7th)
Records
The Dolphins are 7-10 all-time against the Ravens and are 2-8 against them since John Harbaugh took over back in 2008. Miami is also just 1-4 playing in Baltimore with their lone win coming back in 1997.
Miami defeated Baltimore in 2021 by a score of 22-10 in a Thursday night game that Tua Tagovailoa didn’t play until the second half. Tagvoailoa is 7-1 against Super Bowl-winning head coaches and 1-0 against Harbaugh.
Injury concerns
Miami has a fair number of starters dealing with injuries. Cornerback Byron Jones remains on PUP after offseason ankle surgery, so he will be inactive. Left tackle Terron Armstead (toe) and right tackle Austin Jackson (ankle) have been hampered by their injuries suffered in Week 1. It’s unclear if they’ll go in Week 2.
Safety Brandon Jones (hip) and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins (back) also popped up on the injury report on Thursday.
For Baltimore, they lost offensive tackle Ju’Wuan James last week and haven’t seen Ronnie Stanley play since Week 1 last year. While running back J.K Dobbins and cornerback Marcus Peters were full participants in practice on Thursday, cornerbacks Brandon Stephens and Marlon Humphrey have been limited this week.
Both teams have some strong weapons
Even with the injuries that Miami’s defense has, they could still match up well with Baltimore’s offense. The Ravens’ wide receivers haven’t proved to be anything special to this point with Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay leading the group. The latter found the end zone twice last week, so the Dolphins should key in on him a bit.
Tight end Mark Andrews is their best weapon, and while Eric Rowe, who has been battling a pectoral injury, usually helps with safeties, he may impactful enough to draw Xavien Howard this week.
Jackson’s threat of running is Baltimore’s biggest strength. If Miami can apply that same pressure that they did in their 2021 battle, Jackson may be limited in the run game and could be forced into making mistakes. Winning that turnover battle again will be huge.
Baltimore’s defense, if healthy, may be one of the few units that can stifle Miami’s offense at their peak. While Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are dynamic playmakers, Peters and Humphrey are one of the best cornerback duos in the game. On top of that Justin Houston and Odafe Oweh have started their seasons off strong, so they may be able to rattle Tagovailoa and force him to turn the ball over.
