3 ways the Miami Dolphins defense slows down the Ravens

In last year’s matchup in Miami Gardens, the Miami Dolphins, and more specifically the Miami Dolphins defense, showed up and beat the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson struggled, he was beaten down and blitzed like crazy over and over again.

So that raises the question, how do they do it again? After such a dominant game plan and usage of the Miami Dolphins’ physical and athletic defensive backfield, Josh Boyer had Lamar Jackson in a spin zone.

The biggest factors in the game last year were Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones. The Miami Dolphins utilized them to the best of their abilities. They were able to blitz off the edge more than any other team and it was for a multitude of reasons.

It also played another key role in the game, which was slowing down the Ravens’ rushing offense. That is the part of Lamar Jackson’s game that makes him so special, and so dangerous to opposing teams.

It is another reason why the Miami Dolphins drafted a linebacker like Channing Tindall. They did not have that guy who could cover sideline to sideline with speed to keep up with guys like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen.

However, I will be extremely interested to see how different the strategy is this year from the Ravens to limit and slow down the uber-aggressive and effective Miami Dolphins blitz packages. I also want to see how much Josh Boyer decides to leave Xavien Howard and Nik Needham on an island.

That was the last big key to last year’s team and how they were able to stop Lamar Jackson. They were able to leave Xavien Howard and Byron Jones by themselves outside with little to no safety help over the top.

That is a lot of confidence in a corner duo that has gotten a lot of praise throughout the league. However, this year with one of those guys down, in Byron Jones, we now will see if the game plan changes with Nik Needham lined up on the outside against the speedster Devin Duvernay.

So, let’s get straight into it. The three keys for the Miami Dolphins to slow down quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.