5 bold predictions for Ravens vs. Dolphins in Week 1

The Baltimore Ravens are finally about to begin the regular season. After what felt like forever, we’re finally getting back to football that actually matters. And that has us ready to toss out the boldest of predictions for Week 1.

Baltimore’s first opponent is the rebuilding Miami Dolphins. With oddsmakers predicting a big win for the Ravens, the writers here at Ravens Wire aren’t holding back.

Matthew Stevens:

The Ravens offense puts up a minimum of 50 points

All offseason we’ve heard talk about the revamped offense under coordinator Greg Roman. With quarterback Lamar Jackson looking to prove his haters wrong, he has the type of game that leads to early MVP talk and the entire offense clicks together to march down the field drive after drive.

It slows down once Baltimore stops putting their foot on the gas pedal after halftime. But by that point, the damage is already done and the Ravens have such an impressive lead, the defense can feast off the Dolphins’ mistakes as they try to keep up. The run game finishes it all off by putting the ball into the end zone a few more times.

Chuck Mills:

It’s an old-fashioned beatdown on offense and defense

Offensively, the Ravens will have a field day with Jackson having his best day as a passer yet. He’ll get his new receiving corps involved early on a day when he throws for 250 yards and two touchdowns. I expect to see Willie Snead and Mark Andrews get a lot of production, while Jaleel Scott, Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin make the most of limited targets.

On the ground, the trio of Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill will combine to run for 140 yards and a touchdown. Jackson adds another 50 yards as a runner.

Defensively, the Ravens will overwhelm the Dolphins’ disassembled offensive line. While the team lacks a pass rusher who can wreck the game by himself, coordinator Don Martindale will create a scheme that maximizes the talents of each of the players on the Ravens’ front seven. Four Baltimore players will finish the game with a sack.

Kevin Oestreicher:

Ravens defense forces 4 turnovers

With the Ravens flying into Miami to face the Ryan Fitzpatrick-led Dolphins, the defense will come out ready to play. While Fitzpatrick can get hot, I believe that with the lack of an established offensive line in Miami, the Ravens pass rush and run defense will have a field day, getting into the backfield and disrupting throws and destroying run lanes. I think the Baltimore defense will come out “sizzling” hot and show that there won’t be much drop off from the T-Sizzle era.

Alex Bente:

Ravens defense forces five turnovers

With the visitors taking an early lead, the Dolphins are going to take their chances against an elite secondary and pay the price. In a “you get a pick, everyone gets a pick [insert Oprah meme here]” type of game, newcomer Earl Thomas comes up with two errant throws from Fitzpatrick, who may have a long day running for his life with an offensive line that just saw its best player traded away.

Neil Dutton:

Ravens tie franchise record with 11 sacks

The Dolphins offensive line was pretty bad last season, and that was with Laremy Tunsil in the lineup. Now Tunsil is in Houston, and the job of manning the blindside falls to Julie’n Davenport, the second-worst offensive tackle in football last year, according to Pro Football Focus. The young and talented Ravens defense will benefit from a game that should get out of the Dolphins’ hands early, allowing them to pin their ears back — which they’ll do frequently.