Dolphins visit Ravens for a ‘heavyweight fight’
A win would give Miami division title and path to No. 1 seed
It was an early candidate for game of the year last season and what many thought was a glimpse of two teams that could meet later when the stakes were much higher.
The Dolphins mounted one of the largest comebacks in franchise history in Week 2 of the 2022 season, erasing a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the
Ravens in Baltimore, 42-38.
But a playoff rematch never materialized as injuries to both starting quarterbacks derailed their teams’ seasons, which ended in the wild-card round.
Fifteen months after the thrilling victory, the Dolphins are back in Baltimore with an opportunity Sunday for AFC supremacy.
A Miami win would clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2008 and assure the team of a top-two seed in the postseason for the first time since 1992. It would also give the 11-4 Dolphins, who are currently the No. 2 seed, the inside track for the conference’s top spot, only needing a win against Buffalo in the regular-season finale or a Ravens loss to Pittsburgh to secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
A loss, though, would clinch the No. 1 seed for the conference-leading Ravens (12-3) and potentially put Miami in a must-win situation in Week 18 to secure the division.
“It doesn’t matter what’s at stake, we want to win,” said quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for a career-high 469 yards and six touchdowns the last time he faced the Ravens.
“If we know we win this next game, we win the following game, we continue to win, we’ll get to where we want to go to as a team.”