Baltimore Is Near Unanimous Pick to Win in Miami
The Ravens ended a four-game losing streak last week, Lamar Jackson is back, and the team is healthier than it has been all season.
Optimism abounds for the Ravens (2-5), who are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when they face the Dolphins (2-6) in Miami on “Thursday Night Football.”
The oddsmakers and pundits like the Ravens’ chances. Baltimore is a 7.5-point favorite over a Miami team coming off a 34-10 upset of the Atlanta Falcons, and 41 of 43 pundits who got their picks in by Thursday morning predicted a Ravens victory. ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Sports Illustrated’s John Pluym were the only contrarians.
One pundit – NFL Network’s Grant Gordon – predicted the Ravens to win 59-10, the same score the Ravens won by in Miami in 2019.
While Jackson returning after missing the past three games with a hamstring injury is the biggest headline surrounding the game, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer pointed out something that shouldn’t be overlooked regarding the two-time MVP’s return to the field.
For the first time this season, Jackson will be leading an offense that’s fully intact.
“We haven’t seen this version of the Ravens that we’re going to watch on Thursday night,” Orlovsky said. “We haven’t seen Lamar have the lineup of Ronnie Stanley, and Mark Andrews, and Patrick Ricard, and DeAndre Hopkins all on the field together. … And the addition of a player like Keaton Mitchell and more touches for him.
“I know that the chips are stacked against them, but this is a great unknown. This is a team that is lurking out there, because with Lamar back and everybody healthy – certainly on the offensive side – this team should look like the Super Bowl one we thought.”
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