Preview for Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins
Lamar Jackson will go into playoff mode for the Baltimore Ravens when they visit the Miami Dolphins tonight.
Jackson returns from a hamstring injury that has kept him out for three games to try to inspire a Ravens team that has limped to a 2-5 record and whose postseason hopes are hanging by a thread.
The two-time NFL MVP knows the significance of tonight’s game at Hard Rock Stadium and is determined to be the difference-maker.
“Coach [John Harbaugh] touched on that with us in a team meeting: Each and every game is going to be like a win-or-go-home game,” Jackson said. “It’s do-or-die right now, each and every week.”
Jackson’s 3-5 record in the playoffs doesn’t inspire confidence that this clutch situation is tailor-made for his comeback, but the quarterback is at least confident his right hammy won’t cause him any problems.
“That’s what practice is for,” Jackson said on Tuesday. “I feel like we had a great day today. We’ll execute tomorrow. Come Thursday night, we’ll just fly.”
The Ravens will head south confident they can get their season back on track against a Dolphins team who have a 2-6 record that was boosted by a 34-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons last weekend.
Their season is also on the brink with the game against the Ravens followed by clashes with the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders.
Coach Mike McDaniel’s job security remains tenuous but he is thinking short-term rather than trying to assess his team’s slim chances of making the playoffs.
“I feel that our team will be whatever it allows itself to be, and that is 100 per cent based on the opponent that we’re playing,” McDaniel said. “If we start thinking about the big picture, you start losing control of what that big picture is. You have to put one foot in front of the other. … That has to be a one-week mindset and that’s how we got the outcome of that last game.
“The biggest thing is that you have to really lean into the things – in reality, what was the root of our success? It was sweat equity and focus, commitment, conviction, all those things that are derived through preparation which I will be non-negotiably searching for in all the hours leading up to this next game.”
