NFL: Ravens-Dolphins Stats ‘N’ Facts

Baltimore Ravens- Miami Dolphins

RAVENS

The Ravens earned the 2nd Wild Card spot in the AFC playoffs with an 11-5 record, which included a 9-2 mark after starting the season 2-3. Baltimore set an NFL record for most wins by a team with both a rookie head coach (John Harbaugh) and rookie QB (Joe Flacco) – tied with Atlanta’s Mike Smith and Matt Ryan. Baltimore finished 1 game behind Pittsburgh (12-4) in the AFC North. Impressive victories came at Miami (27-13), at Houston (41-13), over the Eagles (36-7) and at Dallas (33-24) in the last game played at Texas Stadium. Most difficult of the losses were 2 memorable battles with the Steelers (23-20 in OT at Pit. and 13-9) and a home loss to Tennessee (13-10)

DEFENSE

The Ravens’ defense, coordinated by assistant head coach Rex
Ryan, enjoyed another dominant season. Ranked 2nd in the NFL,
the defense set 3 team records: opponent QB rating (60.6), rushing TDs allowed (4) and rushing 1st downs allowed (58). Baltimore led the NFL with 26 INTs, including 9 by S Ed Reed, which was also an NFL high. Baltimore was 3rd against the run and 2nd versus the pass in 2008. The Ravens also were tops in the NFL producing “3- and-outs” (60). They did not allow a 100-yard rusher for the 2nd straight season (current string is 35 games, dating back to 2006).

OFFENSE

Rookie QB Joe Flacco (18th selection in 1st round) started every
game for Cam Cameron and the Ravens’ offense. In Flacco’s 1st 5 games, when the Ravens went 2-3, Joe threw 1 TD and 7 INTs for a QB rating of 60.6. Over the last 11 games of the regular season (9-2), Flacco threw 13 TDs with 5 INTs and produced a 90.2 rating. (Joe’s QB mark of 91.7 in road games was 3rd best in the NFL in ’08.) The Ravens were the only team in the NFL to have RBs gain over 900 (Le’Ron McClain), 650 (Willis McGahee) and 450 (Ray Rice) rushing yards. Baltimore led the NFL in time of possession (33:10). WR Derrick Mason produced 80 catches for 1,037 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Matt Stover, who is 40 and just completed his 19th regular season, is the 3rd-most-accurate kicker (83.7%, min. 150 att.) and 5th highest scorer (1,944) in league history. After starting the season making 4 of 7 FGs, “Mr. Reliable” stepped up and made 23 of 26 the rest of the campaign. P Sam Koch set a number of Ravens records and produced the NFL’s 5th-best net average (39.9). LB Brendon Ayanbadejo was voted as the AFC’s Pro Bowl special teamer.

WIZARD OF OZ

Starting with the 1st 2 choices in team history (1996), likely Hall of
Famers Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis, Ozzie Newsome and his
staff have consistently drafted well. Based on the NFL’s 2008
Week 1 rosters, Baltimore drafted the 2nd-highest percentage
(60.8) of players on NFL rosters and 3rd highest on its own team.
The free-agent signing of S Jim Leonhard and trade for CB Fabian
Washington last April saved a secondary that lost starters CB
Chris McAlister and S Dawan Landry to Injured Reserve.

DOLPHINS

Having won nine of their last 10 regular season games, the Miami Dolphins will look to carry that momentum into the postseason when they play host to the Baltimore Ravens at Dolphin Stadium this Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. (ET). By virtue of their victory over the Jets at the Meadowlands last Sunday, the Dolphins captured the 13th division crown in club history while the playoff berth is the franchise’s 22nd in 43 seasons.
It is the first time the Dolphins have been a part of the AFC playoff party since 2001, with their last opponent also having been Baltimore.

The Dolphins completed one of the most improbable – and certainly largest – turnarounds in NFL annals last week when they captured a 24-17 decision over the New York Jets at the Meadowlands. With the Dolphins owning a record of 2-4 after six contests, little did they know at the time that anything less than 9-1 over the final 10 contests would not allow them a trip to the postseason. That’s exactly what the Dolphins did, marking the second-best record over the final 10 games of a season by a Dolphins team. As was the case in eight of the wins that came in this stretch run, the Dolphins’ margin of victory over the Jets was seven or less. Their only exception over this time was a 16-3 victory over Buffalo back on December 7 in Toronto. While many players shared the honors as difference-makers on offense on a week-to-week basis, it was quarterback Chad Pennington that was a constant. He put an exclamation point on one of his finest pro seasons by surpassing the 100.0 mark for passer rating for the fourth game in a row in the finale against the Jets. He set a Dolphins single season mark in that category with a 97.4 clip. His proficiency did not end there, as his 67.4 percent completion mark also represents a club single-season standard. Pennington guided an offense that equaled the NFL single-season record for fewest turnovers with 13.
On the season, though, it was primarily about positions and not individuals. The backfield combination of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams tallied nearly 1,600 yards. The tight end position posted more than 900 yards, the most-ever by that group in Dolphins history while their combined 11 touchdowns tied for the most in Dolphins history. The offensive line, which claims one of the youngest starting units in the league, allowed a total of only 26 sacks.

Category… Stats… Rank… Stats… Rank

…………….RAVENS………DOLPHINS
Total Offense- 324.0- 18…. 345.6- 12
Rush Offense- 148.5- 4…… 118.6- 11
Pass Offense- 175.5- 28….. 227.0- 10
Points Per Game- 24.1- 11… 21.6- 21
Total Defense- 261.1- 2….. 329.0- 15
Rush Defense- 81.4- 3……. 101.3- 10
Pass Defense- 179.7- 2…… 227.8- 25
Points Per Game- 15.3- 3…. 19.8- 9

2008 NFL RANKINGS
Category….. Ravens….. Dolphins
2008 Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-5… 11-5
Current Streak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Won… 5 Won
Last Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .W, 27-7 vs. Jax…. W, 24-17 at NYJ
Points Scored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385… 345
TDs Scored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42… 40
Rushing TDs Scored . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20… 18
Passing TDs Scored . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16… 20
TDs on Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6… 2
Points Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244… 317
TDs Allowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26… 33
Rushing TDs Allowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4… 11
Passing TDs Allowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17… 18
TDs Allowed by Return . . . . . . . . . . . . .5… 4
Turnover Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+13… +17
Red Zone TD Pct. For . . . . . . . . . . .47.1%… 60.0%
Red Zone TD Pct. Against . . . . . . . .35.9%… 48.9%
KOR Avg. For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.1… 22.9
KOR Avg. Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22.6… 19.7
PR Avg. For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.6… 9.4
PR Avg. Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.4… 9.0

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