Thursday’s NFL action takes place in Florida and sees two contrasting teams go head-to-head, as the Miami Dolphins host the Baltimore Ravens.
The Dolphins go into the game with a 2-7 record and sit bottom of the AFC East, while the Ravens are top of the AFC North and are looking to improve their 6-2 record.
Ravens Flying High
Baltimore have been involved in some high-scoring affairs so far this season, scoring 221 points in their eight matches – including a 34-31 win over Minnesota Vikings in Week Nine.
John Harbaugh’s men have scored over 30 points in four matches so far this season and the expectations are that they will make it five times at the Hard Rock Stadium, with the Ravens 25/28 with -7 on the handicap.
Harbaugh has also been boosted by the news that wide receiver Sammy Brown was able to practice on Wednesday and could play a part against Miami. Running back Latavius Murray is unlikely to play though due to injury, but they have other options in that department.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is certainly catching the eye, with 21 carries for 120 yards and throwing three touchdowns in the win over the Vikings. The 24-year-old is 23/20 to score a touchdown on Thursday night.
The Ravens’ defense has not been quite as impressive, conceding 72 points across their last two games, but the Dolphins don’t appear to have the firepower to outscore them.
Miami Need to Rebuild Again
As a franchise with great history, the Dolphins have been in a slumber for far too long with just one play-off appearance in the last 12 seasons.
The two-time Superbowl champions have fallen well short again so far, with Brian Flores’ team on course to register another losing record come the end of the regular season.
Miami did register a win last week, but the 17-9 success came against a team struggling even more than them this season – the Houston Texans (1-8) – and they are now 50/1 to make the play-offs.
Their only hope of springing a surprise seems to lie with linebacker Jerome Baker, who leads the team in tackles this year and will need to halt the Ravens’ running game.
The hosts are likely to be without QB Latavius Murray again, due to a finger injury, so Jacoby Brissett is likely to start. Although they won last week, Brissett was sacked four times by the Texans.
Big Points Look Likely
The head-to-head stats don’t make good reading for the Dolphins – who have lost their last three meetings with the Ravens….and heavily.
After going down 6-38 in 2016 and 0-40 in 2017, both in Baltimore, they were thumped 59-10 on home soil in 2019.
Over 48 points to be scored on Thursday can be backed at 53/50, whilst the Ravens can be backed at 31/20 to win with -12 on the handicap.
*All odds correct at time of writing
