If the Baltimore Ravens (7-5) play like they did against the Miami Dolphins (7-5) for the rest of the season, they should have no problem qualifying for the postseason.
“It was just a heck of a team victory,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
Joe Flacco tore up Miami’s secondary on Sunday, completing a franchise-record 36 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns, which is by far his best performance this season. Flacco did a phenomenal job spreading the ball around to his receivers and, completing an impressive 77 percent of his passes.
“It’s obviously a lot better to play in a game like this than to have to strip-sack the quarterback on the last drive,” Flacco said, making a reference to the Bengals game from a week earlier.
Dennis Pitta had his finest game of the season as well, catching his first two touchdown passes on the year. Pitta was Baltimore’s leading receiver against Miami with nine catches for 90 yards.
“We have a lot of weapons offensively, and we always talked about the potential we have, but we weren’t quite there,” Pitta told reporters after the game. “Today, we recognized that potential and put it together.”
Breshad Perriman had a quiet day until the fourth quarter, where he showed off his electrifying speed on a 53-yard catch-and-run pass for a touchdown to pad the Ravens lead with 12:59 left to go in regulation.
Terrance West may have been overshadowed by Flacco against the Dolphins, but delivered a solid performance as well, scoring two total touchdowns while averaging five yards a carry.
Baltimore’s defense was able to force three critical turnovers, as Lardarius Webb, Eric Weddle, and Jerraud Powers all recorded an interception against Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Webb’s diving interception was among the most impressive takeaways anyone in the NFL has had in 2016.
For good measure, Matthew Judon recorded the Ravens’ only sack of the day on Tannehill, a loss of about nine yards, to sink the scorching Dolphins who held a six-game win-streak going into Sunday’s tilt.
Justin Tucker nailed a 55-yard field goal to put the Ravens up 24-0 before halftime. With all the kicking woes going on around the league, Tucker should be considered a legitimate candidate to win the NFL’s MVP award, as he has put the football through the uprights on every field goal attempt he has made in 2016.
The Ravens will take on the New England Patriots on Monday, Dec. 12 in Massachusetts.
