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Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens NFL Betting Odds & Spread

Written January 2, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Ravens Dolphins Football

The NFL playoffs are just days away, and this Sunday the Baltimore Ravens head to Miami to take on the Dolphins in first round action out of the AFC. The Dolphins clinched the AFC East with their 24-17 win over the Jets in the final week to finish the season at 11-5. The Ravens also finished the season at 11-5 as they secured their spot with a 27-7 win over the Jaguars in the final game. Both these teams were able to edge out the Patriots by virtue of a tiebreaker, as they also finished the season at 11-5. For those of you looking to some NFL betting this weekend, the oddsmakers have the Ravens 3.5 point favorites over the Dolphins at Bookmaker.com.

The Ravens really rebounded after a rough season last year, and nearly won the AFC North this season finishing just a game behind the Steelers. The offense was led by the play of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed 60% of his passes for 2,971 yards with 14 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. While Flacco might not of had as good of rookie campaign as Matt Ryan has had for the Falcons, but any time a rookie takes a team to the playoffs its a pretty big accomplishment. The Ravens did most of their damage on offense by running the football, as Le’Ron McClain ran it 232 times for 902 yards and 10 scores, while Willis McGahee was close behind with 671 yards and 7 touchdowns. Derrick Mason was easily Flacco’s favorite target hauling in 80 catches for 1,037 yards and 5 scores. The Ravens need the running game to be going in this one, but it might be tough against the Dolphins strong run defense.

The Ravens defense is the heart and sole of this team, and they were back to their dominant ways this season, as they are No. 2 against the pass allowing just 180 yards a game, and are and No.3 against the run giving up just 83 yards. What really makes this unit scary is they know how to make the big plays, as they led the NFL with 26 interceptions and 34 total takeaways. This unit also knows how to get after the quarterback, as they totaled 34 sacks this season. For Chad Pennington and the rest of the Dolphins offense, they have to keep an eye out for Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed, who had another monster season recording 41 tackles with 9 interceptions and a sack. The big thing this unit has to be able to do is make sure they are ready to face the wildcat formation that the Dolphins run better than anyone else in the NFL. Bet Baltimore Ravens -3.5 at Bookmaker.com.

The Dolphins also made one heck of a turnaround, as this team only won 1 game last season, but this team might have been the biggest winner when Brett Favre decided to play for the Jets, as it allowed the Dolphins to sneak in and steal the Jets starting quarterback Chad Pennington, and all Pennington has done is throw for 3,653 yards with 19 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions. What makes Pennington’s season even better, is he did all this without a star receiver, as Ted Ginn Jr. showed signs of improving but is not an elite receiver by any means. The Dolphins also did a lot of damage on the ground, as Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined to run for 1,575 and 14 touchdowns, with Brown leading the way with 10 rushing scores. Pennington will have to be great against the Ravens strong defense, and this unit ill afford to turn the ball over.

There weren’t many that thought the Dolphins would be as strong as they are on the defensive side of things with the loss of star defensive end Jason Taylor, but thanks to outstanding year from outside linebacker Joey Porter and a number of players playing at a very high level the Dolphins finished the season 10th against the rush allowing just 101 yards a game. The Dolphins finished the season with 40 sacks, and a big reason for that was the play of Porter, who finished the season with 17.5 sacks. Where this unit struggles is against the pass, where they come in giving up nearly 228 yards a game through the air. The Dolphins could really use a big game out of corner Andre Goodman, who had a huge game against the Jets with 2 interceptions and a forced fumble. Bet Miami Dolphins +3.5 at Bookmaker.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Ravens -3.5
I really think that the best team out of the AFC East is sitting at home in the Patriots, and everyone will see just that when the game is over this Sunday. The Ravens have already won in Miami this season, when they took home a 27-13 win back in week 7, and the Ravens are one of the hottest teams entering the playoffs, as they have won 9 of their past 11 games.

Predicted Score: Ravens 31 Dolphins 20

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