3 ways the Miami Dolphins defense slows down the Ravens
By Wesley Minke
![MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 11: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins forces Sammy Watkins #14 of the Baltimore Ravens to fumble and return for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on November 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 11: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins forces Sammy Watkins #14 of the Baltimore Ravens to fumble and return for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on November 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fphinphanatic-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2018-2F08-2F1352901627-850x560-745f0edd61da86e93215f7727539c129f717b4609e3f3857b4f849f0b3cadda3.jpg)
Blitz, Blitz, Blitz, with an added side of Miami Dolphins BLITZ.
The Miami Dolphins and Josh Boyer executed this to perfection last year in the game in Miami Gardens. The reason he can do this is by using pre-snap looks as a disguise for the coverage.
The Miami Dolphins can load the box every play and take away every part of the run game that makes this Ravens team so dangerous.
Excited to watch these @MiamiDolphins play Defense today!
— Darius Butler (@DariusJButler) September 11, 2022
🎥: @NFLMatchup @PlaybooKFoley #FinsUp #NFLTwitter #EverythingDB pic.twitter.com/1koohLEfWK
Also, with the uncertain status of JK Dobbins heading into this week 2 matchup, it could take the Ravens best running back out of the lineup and allow the Miami Dolphins to key in on Lamar Jackson even more.
However, in the interest of some Miami Dolphins fans, if Dobbins is again out, the lead back Sunday will be Kenyan Drake. So maybe some revenge could be on his mind as he forces his former squad.
This whole strategy of loading the box against the Ravens will only work if they can rely on Xavien Howard and Nik Needham to play up to standard. Many Miami Dolphins fans should expect Xavien Howard to shadow Rashod Bateman for most of the night, as that likely will happen.
However, who is on the other side?
In last week’s game against New England, we saw a little bit of a mixture between Nik Needham as well as some Keion Crossen and Kader Kohou.
Kader Kohou and Nik Needham are both excellent in the slot, but Needham will likely be forced to play outside and slow down Devin Duvernay the speedster.
I expect to see a lot of man coverage with Boyer relying on his best weapons on defense to hold their ground while we see a ton of blitz packages sent Lamar Jackson’s way.
The last part of this will be how does Miami take Lamar Jackson’s legs out of this game? How do they stabilize the best scrambling quarterback in the league, two years in a row? Well, let’s find out.