The premier matchup of Week 17 was supposed to be a showdown of AFC heavyweights between the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins. However, it turned into a 56-19 beatdown by the Ravens that never felt close.
The Ravens played a complete game both offensively and defensively. Head coach John Harbaugh spoke about the win to the media, “I don’t know if I have seen a more impressive performance in a season, to date.”
Harbaugh said, “It was entertaining, it was fun. Couldn’t be more proud of this football team, couldn’t be more proud of the fans.”
Harbs is proud of the team and the fans 💜
Quarterback Lamar Jackson was the maestro of an offense that could not be stopped today. The Dolphins had no answers for the Ravens and were allowing chunk play after chunk play.
The VIBES
Hat and t-shirt game for the Ravens
The defense took a couple of drives to pull it together, but after allowing ten points in the first quarter, they only gave up nine more points the whole game. They picked off Tua Tagovailoa twice, even with safety Kyle Hamilton out.
“Pretty much a well-rounded perfect performance,” Harbaugh said.
M&T Bank Stadium Erupts in ‘MVP’ Chants for Lamar Jackson
If Jackson did not have the Most Valuable Player award locked up after the Week 16 victory against the San Francisco 49ers, then he should now after his performance against the Dolphins.
Jackson was 18 for 21 passing for 321 yards and 5 touchdowns. He added another 35 yards on the ground, and finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
Much of the noise about the MVP was Jackson did not have the counting stats to deserve the award. Jackson responded with one of his statistically best games of the season.
The fans broke out into “MVP” chants for their QB multiple times during the game, but to his credit, Jackson was not focused on that. The Louisville product said, “We need to finish this game, I’m not really paying attention to the chants.”
Harbaugh said, “This performance was even better than last week…. Lamar played a perfect game in terms of the passing game.” Jackson was fantastic against the 49ers in Week 16 but took it to another level against the Dolphins.
Jackson was gashing the Dolphins’ defense every drive, with completions of 75, 35, 33 and 23. The QB got everyone involved, completing passes to nine different Ravens.
Linebacker Roquan Smith described watching his QB work as, “I was like a little kid at the movie theater.”
Ravens Looking Forward to Extra Preparation Time
With the victory, Baltimore clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and will be able to rest during Week 18 ahead of the playoffs. The Ravens posted on their X (formerly Twitter), “Kings of the North.”
They play the Pittsburgh Steelers during Week 18 and Harbaugh will have some choices to make about who suits up.
KINGS OF THE NORTH
“You can only take six players out of the equation,” Harbaugh told reporters. The priority will be keeping Jackson healthy, but Harbaugh may have to fight his QB about that.
He told reporters, “I’m sure I’ll talk to Lamar [Jackson] and he’s going to want to play.”
The Ravens will also have the extra week during the Wild Card round to get healthy after clinching the bye. This will allow players like Hamilton, who missed today, to have almost three weeks before the Ravens play another meaningful game.
KINGS OF THE NORTH AND THE #1 SEED ‼️
Harbaugh understands the benefits of this extra week, telling media, “It’s going to be very valuable.”
The Ravens last had a bye during the 2019 season and were ultimately knocked out in the first round. They will look to not repeat the quick exit and make a deep run at a Super Bowl.
The team will no doubt be focused on the goal at hand. Harbaugh told media during his post-game press conference, “We remember [20]19.”
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Ravens’ John Harbaugh Has Strong Message After Blowing Out the Dolphins