The Baltimore Ravens hammered the Miami Dolphins by a score of 56-19 on Sunday afternoon, clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It marked the latest blowout victory for the Ravens, who set a rather impressive record in the process.
Prior to annihilating the Dolphins in Week 17, Baltimore had previously beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars by 16 points two weeks ago and also thumped the San Francisco 49ers by 14 on Christmas Day.
The Ravens are now 13-3 on the season and looked primed for a Super Bowl run.
Lamar Jackson went 18-for-21 with 321 yards and five touchdowns while carrying the ball six times for 35 yards in what was almost certainly his best performance of the season this past weekend.
Baltimore was actually behind 10-7 to Miami after the first quarter, but it then scored 21 points in the second period to take a 28-10 lead into halftime.
From that point on, it was all Ravens.
The only score of the third quarter was when Jackson threw a touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely, but in the fourth and final frame, the floodgates opened again, as Baltimore rattled off three straight touchdowns after a Dolphins score to finish with 56 points on the day.
Miami was on the other side of one of these types of games earlier in the season when it destroyed the Denver Broncos 70-20, so now, the Dolphins know what it’s like to be on the receiving end.
It’s not just that the Ravens are winning games; they are absolutely eviscerating teams, and good ones, at that.
With Baltimore having everything wrapped up heading into the final week of the regular season, it should be interesting to see how head coach John Harbaugh approaches things.
Does Harbaugh play Jackson for all 60 minutes to try and let him put a bow on his MVP status? Does he play him for a half? Does he rest him altogether? What about some of the key defensive players?
It’s a pretty cushy luxury to have going into the last regular-season game of 2023.
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