Dolphins-Ravens: Defense Is the Key

The Ravens have never beaten the Dolphins in Miami. Miami's only win last year was against Baltimore. History is on Miami's side, but it is going to have to take a lot more than that to win.

The winner of this game will be decided by the defenses of both teams.

The Ravens have the top defense in the NFL but one of the worst offenses.

Miami is in the better end of the spectrum on both sides, with the exception of passing.

The main battle will be between Miami's versatile offense against the Raven's shutdown defense.

Miami will need to utilize both Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams and will need Pennington to be on fire to get past Baltimore. Ronnie Brown has scored a touchdown in the last four games and is hoping to keep the streak alive.

Ricky Williams gets a lot of carries some games and not so many in others. Miami is going to need to give him the ball almost as much as Brown to confuse Baltimore.

When Brown and Williams can run well, then Pennington will have open targets downfield.

Even though the "Wildcat" didn't work well against Houston, Miami should still continue to use it. As long as the Dolphins can keep the Ravens on their toes, they will gain yards a lot easier.

On the other end, when Baltimore has the ball, the Dolphin's will need to force as many turnovers as possible. Last week, Baltimore threw five interceptions against Indianapolis. If Miami can take away the ball a couple of times, there will be less pressure on their offense, which will lead to more points.

Miami should be able to come off of a disappointing loss last week and pull this one out for a win.