The Baltimore Ravens traveled to Miami and won a tough game over the Dolphins in a match up that many felt was an elimination game. This was only the 12th time in league history that two 7-5 teams met. The race for a wildcard birth is a tight one with almost eight teams in contention.
The Ravens offense got off to a very slow start. They had three straight three and outs. They didn’t get a first down until the second quarter. The defense was on the field way too much initially. This lead to the Dolphins jumping out to a 10-0 lead.
Joe Flacco lead the Ravens on a drive deep into Dolphins territory but he threw a costly interception while facing a blitz in the red zone. They were able to sustain a long drive once again from their own four yard line. Flacco kicked things off with 15 yard run after he saw a lane open up. He and Kamar Aiken connected four times and capped off the drive with a short touchdown pass to Steve Smith Sr.
The Dolphins were able to find some success early running the ball and with their quick passing game. John Harbaugh said that the screen passes where most effective against the Ravens defense. They were able to get things under control and stiffle the Dolphins offense in the second half. Credit the pass rush with getting to Ryan Tannehill and constantly having him rush throws.
Random Notes:
-Elvis Dumervil had 3.5 sacks which gives him a total of 16 sacks for the year. That surpasses the single season record of 15 sacks set by former Raven Peter Boulware. Dumervil is on pace for 19.5 sacks this season.
-The multiple sack game by Dumervil was his seventh of the season. The Ravens are 7-0 in the games where he has more than one sack.
-Terrell Suggs celebrated his only sack of the day by performing a Tongan dance in tribute to Haloti Ngata who is serving a four game suspension.
-Kamar Aiken had a career high six receptions. He also had 65 yards and one touchdown. Aiken grew up within minutes of Sun Life Stadium.
-Justin Forsett had a 44 yard run which adds onto his already league leading 12 runs of 20 yards or more. He has a total of 13 explosive runs this season. Forsett had 13 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. His streak of three consecutive 100 yard rushing games was broken today.
-Torrey Smith’s knee swelled up in final warmups. Inactives had already been set. He knew he would be primarily a decoy because of the knee injury. Smith was not targeted at all by Flacco.
-Cornerbacks Anthony Levine (concussion) and Danny Gorrer (knee) were both injured during the game. The Ravens now only have two helathy cornerbacks (Asa Jackson, Lardarius Webb) on their roster.
Notable Quotes:
Elvis Dumervil on his sack total and the key win: “It was an overall team win. We needed this one. We’re built for this time of the year. Give credit to our coaches. Sacks come in bunches. It’s a blessing. It’s not easy, hard to come by. I can’t take the credit for myself.”
Kamar Aiken on playing at Sun Life Stadium: “Always good to have a good game in front of hometown. A lot of them are Dolphins fans but they switched to Ravens for today.”
John Harbaugh on going for it on fourth down and a tough team win: “A decision like that (4th down at own 35) depends on the guys like front. We decided if we got close that we would go for it. They stuck together, we didn’t panic. We stuck to our game plan in all three phases. Two things came to kind at the end, faith in one another and a higher power. The second was guys. They stepped up today. Our offensive staff have done a great job. Kubiak has an excellent system. It fits our team perfectly.”
Joe Flacco on the offensive gameplan: “As an offensive guy, we knew that we had to be aggressive. The confidence that he has in us to go for it was huge. You want to do the things that your players do well. You look at what the stats are the first handful of games and try to improve it. We sensed important of a game this was and after a slow start we responded.”
The Ravens return to M&T Bank stadium to face the Jacksonville Jaguars next week. They are now 8-5 and still in the thick of the wildcard race. They are also in the hunt for an AFC North Division title.
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