Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens Odds

The Miami Dolphins improved to 4-0 on the road this season with last week’s win over Cincinnati. Winning a fifth straight away from home will be no easy task.

The Dolphins take on the 5-2, AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens Sunday, and NFL odds makers have them coming up short. They have listed the Ravens as a 5-point favorite with the total set at 40.5.

With the addition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall, Miami hoped to become a dangerous passing team this season. The passing game has improved, but running the ball is still the ticket to Miami’s success. The Dolphins are a perfect 4-0 this season when they rush for more than 100 yards and 0-3 when they don’t.

It is also worth noting that Miami is 6-1 when quarterback Chad Henne throws the football 30 or fewer times in a game and just 5-8 when he throws it more than 30 times.

However, this may be a week when the Dolphins have to ignore the numbers. Henne could be poised for a big game against a Baltimore defense that has allowed an average of 318.7 yards through the air in its last three games. The Ravens even gave up 382 yards passing to Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Miami has struggled to finish its drives with touchdowns, but the good news is kicker Dan Carpenter has been automatic. Carpenter is a perfect 10-for-10 with field goal tries the last two weeks.

It is worth noting that Miami is 9-1 against the spread in its last 10 games as an underdog.

Prior to their bye week, the Ravens gave up 514 yards of offense to Buffalo and were lucky to escape with a win. It was the most yards Baltimore had allowed since December of 2000. The win did improve Baltimore to 3-0 at home, and it currently stands tied with Pittsburgh for the AFC North lead.

Baltimore is hoping that it has been able to sort things out on the defensive side of the football during its off week. The Ravens are typically very strong following a bye. In fact, they are 7-1 coming off a bye since 2002, winning their last two by an average of 20.5 points.

Quarterback Joe Flacco figures to be the key to getting past Miami. The Miami defense has been susceptible to the big play in recent weeks, giving up a touchdown strike of 37 or more yards in three straight games. This could spell bad news for the Dolphins considering how dialed in Flacco has been.

The big fella has thrown five touchdown passes with no interceptions in his last two games. In addition, Baltimore is 11-1 at home when Flacco throws at least one touchdown pass.

These two teams last met in the 2008 season and it was all Baltimore. The Ravens won 27-13 in the regular season and 27-9 in the playoffs.

It is worth noting that the Ravens are 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games following a bye week.