Welcome to another week of Thursday Night Football.
Week 9’s matchup features the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins, 2 teams who are 2-6 to start the season. Both squads are in must-win mode if they want to keep any hope alive of reaching the postseason in 2025.
Ravens vs. Dolphins odds
Here’s a look at the up-to-date betting odds for this matchup along with pricing info from the best sports betting app in every market:
Here’s what you should know before placing a bet on this game:
Ravens news
- Lamar Jackson is expected back in Baltimore’s lineup on Thursday night as the Ravens seek a win over the Dolphins. Jackson has missed several games in a row due to a hamstring injury.
- The Ravens appear to have battled through the injury crisis they were faced with during the early part of the season. Most key players who missed time such as Roquan Smith, Ronnie Stanley, Kyle Hamilton and others have returned the lineup.
- Baltimore looked much-improved in Week 8 when it beat Chicago 30-16. The Ravens averaged 6 yards per play and rushed for 177 yards in that win.
- Derrick Henry has not been quite as efficient as he was a year ago, but he’s still having a great season. Henry is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and is on pace for well over 1,200 yards.
- Zay Flowers is Baltimore’s most-targeted wide receiver by far with 55 targets. He’s at 486 receiving yards on the season — no other Ravens pass catcher is above 210 yards.
- Tight end Mark Andrews is in his age-30 season but is still a significant part of Baltimore’s passing game. He’s caught 24 passes in 7 games and is second on the team with 30 targets.
- Defensively, the Ravens rank 30th in EPA per play. However, their talent level when healthy suggests a much better defensive unit than that. Baltimore is 16th in defensive EPA since Week 6.
Dolphins news
- It’s been a nightmare season overall for the Dolphins, with the futures of coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa very much in doubt for most of the year.
- However, Miami played its best game of the season on Saturday as it blew out on the Falcons on the road despite being an underdog of more than a touchdown.
- Following that result, the Dolphins are 2-6 this season. They rank 25th in EPA offense and 27th in EPA defense.
- Malik Washington has emerged as the clear No. 2 wide receiver in this offense behind Jaylen Waddle. However, Washington has not been very efficient — he’s averaging just 5.4 yards per reception. That’s by far the lowest in the NFL among receivers with at least 25 catches this season (next closest is 7.4 yards per reception).
- Miami’s offense ranks 31st in success rate on first and second down.
- The Dolphins defense forces 3-and-outs just 13.9% of the time, which ranks 29th in the NFL entering this week.
Ravens vs. Dolphins picks
I’ll lay the points with Baltimore. The Ravens have a lot of ground to make up due to their 1-5 start. Although they’re on the road on a short week here, I think Baltimore will take care of business against a Miami team that’s already been blown out a few times this season. The Dolphins have lost by 25 points twice already and have another 10-point loss on their résumé as well. Baltimore is also the healthier team by a long shot, which could mean a lot on a short week.
Pick: Ravens -7.5 (-110 on bet365)
I’ll take Malik Washington’s receiving yardage under. Washington has emerged as the No. 2 receiver and No. 3 pass catcher (behind Waddle and De’Von Achane) in this offense, but his efficiency is alarmingly low. I mentioned his 5.4 yards per reception above as the worst in the NFL. Per PFF, Washington is averaging 0.74 yards per route run. Among 49 wide receivers with at least 35 targets this season, that ranks 49th. His average depth of target is only 4.1 yards, which also ranks dead last among that sample. I think the Ravens will keep him under this number.
Pick: Malik Washington under 28.5 receiving yards (-113 on DraftKings)
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
