Brandon Lee in 
The Baltimore Ravens (3-4) will host the Miami Dolphins (4-2) to start out Week 8 on Thursday Night Football. Kickoff is set for 8:25 EST at M&T Bank Stadium and will be televised on CBS.
Oddsmakers currently have Baltimore listed as a 3-point home favorite with the total set at 37.5 points. Click here for a full look at the Week 8 NFL betting schedule and for more links to our game previews.
Dolphins vs Ravens Vegas Game Odds & Betting Preview
Miami enters off a thrilling 31-28 home win over the Jets. It was a fortunate push for anyone who backed the Dolphins -3, as they trailed by 14 going into the 4th quarter. This comes just a week after they erased a 17-0 halftime deficit in a 20-17 win at Atlanta. The big story was the play of backup quarterback Matt Moore, who took over for an injured Jay Cutler and threw two 4th quarter touchdowns.
Baltimore continued it’s losing ways with a 16-24 loss at Minnesota, where they failed to cover as a 5-point dog. It wasn’t even as close as the final score would indicate, as the Ravens scored a meaningless TD on the final snap of regulation. Baltimore is 1-4 SU and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games.
These two teams played in December of last year, which saw the Ravens cruise to a 38-6 win as a mere 3-point home favorite.
NFL Betting Predictions & Free Pick Against the Spread: Ravens -3
I think the perception here is that the Dolphins are better off with Moore as their starter, because of the horrible rep that Cutler gets. If that was the case, Miami wouldn’t have begged Cutler to come out of retirement and made Moore the starter for Week 1. I’m not saying Moore can’t hold the fort down while Cutler is out, I just don’t think the line has been adjusted enough for the injury.
Click on the link for more free NFL picks against the betting spread and total.
I know the Ravens defense hasn’t been playing well, but I really like this spot for Baltimore’s stop unit. Their biggest problem has been stopping the run. After allowing 100+ to the Vikings they are now dead last in the NFL, giving up 145.3 ypg. They did get back a big part of their run defense in defensive tackle Brandon Williams and I don’t see this unit continuing to play as poorly as they have. It will certainly held going up against a Miami offense that is 29th in rushing at just 81.7 ypg.
If the Dolphins can’t get the running game going, this could be a long game for an offense that is also just 30th in passing. For as much flack as the Ravens offense gets for it’s pedestrian numbers, they are averaging more yards/game than Miami.
When you factor in home field advantage, which is absolutely huge in these Thursday night games, and the fact that this feels like a must-win game for the Ravens, I think this is as good a spot as you will find to back Baltimore. Miami on the other hand has just won two games they shouldn’t have and 3 in a row overall. I think the Dolphins could come out a bit flat on the short week against a struggling Ravens team.
As the head coach of the Ravens, John Harbaugh and his team have gone an impressive 15-4 ATS after a stretch where they failed to cover the spread in 4 or 5 of their last 6