Ravens Lock up One Seed, Set to Face Houston in Divisional

The Ravens dominantly asserted themselves as the best team in the AFC on December 31st, dismantling the Miami Dolphins 56-19 at home. Led by Quarterback Lamar Jackson's five touchdown passes, the Ravens locked themselves into the number one seed, effectively ensuring that the road to the Super Bowl must go through Baltimore.

Lamar's performance boosted his odds of being the MVP favorite, and deservingly so. Jackson completed 18 of 21 passes for the five touchdowns mentioned above and 321 yards. His numbers were good enough to hoist a perfect passer rating of 153.8 for the second time in his career. Rookie Wide Receiver Zay Flowers went for over 100 yards on the day, which saw him haul in a beautiful 75-yard deep ball for a touchdown. The backup-made-starter, Tight End Isaiah Likely, has filled in great for Mark Andrews in his absence. Likely caught two passes, both for touchdowns, on Sunday and made it known that he can hold his own.

Baltimore's defense had Miami's high-flying offense in a choke hold, keeping them in check for only 19 points. Tua Tagovailoa struggles against good teams continued as he turned the ball over twice. Tagovailoa completed 22 of 38 passes for 237 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks. Potential MVP candidate Tyreek Hill had a quiet game for his standards, catching six passes for 76 yards and no TDs. With Hill's partner in crime Jaylen Waddle out, production outside Hill was hard to find. Tight End Durham Smythe had 54 yards on three catches, but outside of him and Hill no other pass catchers broke over 30 yards. Running back De'von Achane had a good game on the stat sheet as he caught a touchdown pass and rushed for over 100 yards on 14 carries.

Moving into the last week of the regular season, Baltimore will most likely rest their starters with the top seed locked up. On the other hand, Miami has a matchup to decide the AFC East crown against the division rival Bills. A Miami victory ensures them the number two seed, but a loss would drop them to the 6th seed. While on entirely different sides of the spectrum, week 18 will be significant for the both the Dolphins and the Ravens.