Baltimore Beatdown
In the NFL, a “trap game” is commonly used to describe a matchup where a superior team that is favored to win could play down to their competition against an inferior opponent. It can be easy to identify potential trap games ahead of time or not realize it’s happening until the actual game occurs.
For the Baltimore Ravens, like most other teams, they’ve been victim to this situation plenty of times before. While the Ravens have been one of the league’s most successful regular season teams in recent years, they’ve still fallen short of expectations in some contests where they were heavily favored or widely expected to win easily.
Trap games can be influenced by different factors, such as the time and location of the game or when it occurs within a team’s schedule. At the same time, any squad can merely just play poorly in a given matchup at random, too.
My answer: Ravens @ Dolphins, Week 8
This is probably the most common answer given we’ve seen the Ravens fall flat in this exact same spot a few years ago. In 2021, the Ravens played a road game against the Dolphins on Thursday night and lost 22-10. They notably struggled mightily offensively and had no answers for Miami’s blitz-heavy defensive scheme in that matchup.
Since then, the Ravens have become one of the most efficient passing offenses in the league against the blitz. That’s in large part because of the growth of Lamar Jackson, who last season was elite when facing pressure.
With that being said, though, out of all the matchups on the Ravens’ 2025 schedule, traveling to Miami on another Thursday night profiles as a potential trap game once again.
The Dolphins are projected by many to be middle-of-the-pack team in the AFC this coming season. However, they’re still a dangerous opponent given their high-powered offensive talent. They have one of the league’s best wide receiver duos in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, a productive tight end in Jonnu Smith, and a dynamic young running back, De’Von Achane. Tua Tagovailoa has proven to be a more-than-capable passer, too.
The Ravens and Dolphins have an interesting recent history of matchups. Since 2019, they’ve split 2-2 in four total contests. In 2019, the Ravens blew them out in the season opener by a score of 59-10. Two years ago, they similarly dominated the Dolphins but this time at home — scoring 56 points and winning by 37 points. In between these, the Dolphins beat the Ravens twice in a row: the aforementioned 22-10 win in 2021 and a memorable four-point win in 2022, where the Dolphins erased a three-possession deficit in Baltimore.
The Ravens will likely be favored in this game by a good margin and while they’re the superior team, playing on the road in a short week is a disadvantageous spot. Prior to this game, the Ravens are hosting the...
