Game Preview: Ravens To 'Defend Our Home'

Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs is expecting a “championship atmosphere” Sunday.

That’s because Suggs and his teammates are sensing a battle for home territory.

The Ravens are well aware of the Dolphins’ “road warrior” mentality. Miami is 4-0 in enemy territory this season.

But Baltimore’s got a 3-0 home record this season and a six-game win home win streak as well. And there’s pride that goes along with that too.

“Something’s got to give,” Suggs said. “They’re going to come in here and they’re going to try to get a win. Much respect to them, and we’re going to definitely defend our home.”

Over the past decade, the Ravens have the third-best home record in the NFL (61-22), trailing just the New England Patriots (65-19) and Indianapolis Colts (63-20).

The Ravens are 15-4 since Head Coach John Harbaugh took over in 2008. Only three teams in the NFL have better home records during that time – Patriots, Colts and Minnesota Vikings.

“We like that; we’re very proud of that,” Harbaugh said. “We want to expand on that if we can.”

Asked what makes the Ravens so successful at home, Suggs said, “The 12^th man, the city of Baltimore.”

“[The fans] come out and they want to see us play and get fired up,” Suggs said. “And we never want to disappoint them. We’ve felt that empty feeling of having our fans leaving our stadium disappointed, and we’ve even scared them a few times.”

The Dolphins take pride in the fact they have quieted an opposing team’s stadium on more than one occasion.

"That feels good,” Miami running back Ronnie Brown said. “That means you're doing something right. As a football team, we're on the right track when we can get the other team's crowd to silence a little bit. That adds more incentive for you as a team, maybe a little bit more motivation."

The Ravens have their most dominant win of the season at home (a 31-17 triumph over the Denver Broncos in Week 5), but they’ve also had to come from behind twice against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 and Buffalo Bills in their last outing.

Sunday’s game presents a chance to make not only a home statement, but an opportunity to advance in the AFC playoff chase. The Dolphins were at team that was in the Wild Card playoff picture late last year, and with a 4-3 start to this season, they figure to be in the mix again.

“When you set yourself up for 5-2 right now, you’re in the hunt for something greater,” Rice said. “Really, we have to just take care of home, win at home, and try to take care of the things in our division. I think everything else will take care of itself.”

3 Things For A Ravens Win

1. Wrap Up: The Ravens attest that their lower-than-desired ranking on run defense and struggles to stop the pass versus Buffalo were tackling issues. Miami has a pair of tough receivers to take down in Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess and running backs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are handfuls as well.

2. Hold Em’ To Three (Or None): Miami’s offense has moved the ball well this season, including ranking fifth on third-down conversion percentage. But the Dolphins are 19^th in red zone touchdown percentage. The Ravens would rather leave it up to Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter (10 FGs in the past two games) than let Miami in their end zone.

3. Create Havoc: The last time these two teams squared off in the 2008 playoffs, Ed Reed had two interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Reed was an immediate difference-maker versus Buffalo with two picks and a forced fumble. Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne has thrown at least one interception in each of his past five games.