Better QB health brought Ravens, Dolphins to top of AFC entering Sunday’s showdown

When Tua Tagovailoa played better than Lamar Jackson last year - both quarterbacks looked like top-notch players. It showed how good the Dolphins and Ravens might become.

Both those teams had to wait a year, but now they are in the top of AFC. They just needed their main throwers to stay healthy.

"I have a lot of respect for Lamar because of the things he's done during his career," Tagovailoa said. "I remember when I was in college, there was a player who got the MVP by saying to me that my basketball skills were great. It felt amazing."

Jackson is now the most favored to win his second MVP after helping the Ravens get a big win on Monday night against San Francisco. Baltimore (12-3) is the best team in football. They can take first place if they win. The team got the 1 seed in AFC after winning over Miami on Sunday. If the Dolphins (11 wins, 4 losses) win in Baltimore they can decide their own way to be number one in the conference.

But, the person who loses this game may not win their own division.

So, a lot is on the line - way more than in Week 2 last year. At that time, Tagovailoa threw for 469 yards and scored six touchdowns. The Dolphins came back from being down by 21 points in the final part of the game to defeat the Ravens with a score of 42-38. It was a kind of welcome event for the Miami attack in its second game with coach Mike McDaniel.

Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said, "They did some amazing things against us in the passing game." "Made big moves. It was a large recovery. Clearly, it was hard for us to accept."

On the same day, Jackson was the first quarterback in NFL history to have a touchdown pass and run of at least 75 yards. This happened during one game only.

Both teams made the playoffs, but each lost their first game in the postseason. At that time, Jackson had a knee injury and Tagovailoa's head hits made him unavailable too. They've both played in every game this season.

Tagovailoa could not practice much this week because of his left thumb and leg. Both teams have other health issues too. Star player Jaylen Waddle (ankle) can't play and runner Raheem Mostert (knee, ankle) is not sure if he will be in Miami.

Safety Kyle Hamilton (knee) and new player Zay Flowers (calf) might not play for the Ravens.

Tagovailoa believes there's a wrong idea about the fast Dolphins. They've been praised all season as the fastest offense in NFL. People have called them a fancy team that can be pushed around by stronger opponents - like tough Ravens.

Tagovailoa said that Miami's running game, always top five in the season so far. is an example of how strong Dolphins are when it comes to physicality. Miami is getting an average of 136.4 yards from running each game and the best in the league with 5 yards per rush.

"You can move fast and still be strong," said Tagovailoa. "I think that's what people get wrong about our team." They notice, okay, men can run quickly. Men are soaring through the field. But look at our runs. Check out those who have man problems, or crack issues.