We’re nearing the midpoint of the 2025 NFL season as we enter Week 9 with an AFC matchup as the Baltimore Ravens head to South Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins. As surprising as it may appear, both these teams have just two wins on the season as they’ve both been hit with injuries to key players on offense and they’ve both exhibited poor defensive play. It feels strange to say, but the loser of this game could certainly see their playoff chances gets squashed and we haven’t even yet made it to November. But for a Thursday Night Football game we have a high implied total over 50 points so let’s take a look at the top Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS picks to kick off Week 9!

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS Picks & Preview: Thursday Night Football, 10/30

It was just a few years ago when these two teams matched up in Week 2 of the 2022 season and exploded for an 80-point game that saw the Dolphins claim victory 42-38. Miami had to rally from being down 21 points at halftime and they scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. Tua Tagovailoa threw for over 400 yards and six touchdowns. Even Lamar Jackson threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 100+ and another score. It’s one of the rare occasions a player grabbed two different bonuses on DraftKings. Both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle caught 11 passes, and each scored twice. It was truly an absolute fantasy football bonanza.

But fast forward three years and it’s amazing where these two teams stand. The Baltimore Ravens are 2-5 but they’re coming off a much-needed win over the Chicago Bears in Week 8. The win comes after four straight losses, two of which were without Lamar Jackson.

The Miami Dolphins are also coming off a win, a stunning 34-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons who are about as trustworthy as Bernie Madoff with your lunch money. The Dolphins lost Tyreek Hill to a season ending injury which just caps off a season that looked doomed before it even started. Mike McDaniel is rumored to be on the hot seat, the defense is horrific, and Tua Tagovailoa’s massive contract extension runs through 2028. The organization as a whole seems to lack direction and there are several fixes to be made.

But if we can put aside how bad these teams have been through the first half of the season, we might just be able to enjoy a pretty good game Thursday night. Short weeks are always tough to get a read on, but both these teams rank in the bottom six defensively in EPA per play allowed. This game is a must win for both teams to keep their playoff hopes alive and this will be a fun game to bet on and play for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel. Here are the latest Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS picks as we turn the page to Week 9!

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Dolphins TNF Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Ravens -7.5 (-110)
    • Dolphins +7.5 (-110)
  • Money Line:
    • Ravens (-440)
    • Dolphins (+340)
  • Game Total:
    • Over 51.5 (-108)
    • Under 51.5 (-112)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Ravens -7.5 (-115)
    • Dolphins +7.5 (-105)
  • Money Line:
    • Ravens (-430)
    • Dolphins (+340)
  • Game Total:
    • Over 50.5 (-110)
    • Under 50.5 (-110)

 

 

 

NFL Weather: Ravens vs. Dolphins TNF, October 30th

The weather for our TNF DFS picks looks like it’ll be top notch. At kickoff, temperatures will start in the mid 70’s and drop a degree or two with each passing hour. Humidity is always a concern, especially in South Florida, but we’ll see about 50-60% humidity which isn’t too bad and there’s no rain in the forecast. Winds should be kept in check averaging 8-9 miles per hour with minimal gusts.

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Dolphins Injuries: Thursday Night Football Week 9

Lamar Jackson is off the injury report and he logged an “official” full practice on Wednesday. I use the quotations there because they incorrectly labeled him as a full participant last Friday ahead of Week 8 and was subsequently ruled out on Saturday. So the NFL is obviously looking into it and the Ravens will likely get a monetary fine. But Jackson is set to return Thursday night and per the Wednesday injury report, there are no other players carrying an injury designation for Baltimore.

The Dolphins are already without Darren Waller, who is on IR, and they’ll be without Julian Hill Thursday night. Safety Ashtyn Davis is doubtful with a quadricep injury and Bradley Chubb is questionable with a shoulder/foot combo injury.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: MVP/Captain

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $11,800 | FanDuel: $13,600

As mentioned previously in the article, the Ravens got into some hot water with regard to Lamar Jackson’s injury designation for Week 8. It doesn’t appear as if that’ll be the case for our TNF DFS picks as Lamar Jackson is set to return in a great matchup. Despite missing the last few games for Baltimore, Lamar ranks 4th in EPA/Play (0.28) and completion percentage over expected (9.1%).

Lamar has played the Dolphins four times in his career. In three of those games he’s thrown for 300+ yards and in two of those games he threw for five touchdowns. And the crazy thing is that in the games he threw for 300+ yards, he did it with fewer than 30 pass attempts in each game. And I’m not even including his rushing totals because we know he can get it going with his legs.

Prior to getting injured Lamar had rushed for 35+ yards in three of four games this year. It’s a short week but he’s well rested and if he’s fully recovered from the hamstring injury then he could once again carve up this Miami defense.

De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins – DraftKings: $11,400 | FanDuel: $12,000

The fantasy football community makes a lot out of the receiving usage for players like Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. Believe it or not, De’Von Achane is the player leading all running backs in routes lined up in the slot or out wide. Per Scott Barrett of Fantasy Points, Achane is at 67 routes, Robinson has 63, and McCaffrey is next with 59.

Achane lacks the overall receiving production of those two, but who cares? For our Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS picks, Achane’s the running back with the most receiving upside. He has seven total touchdowns this season and four have come through the passing game and he now has 37 receptions for 235 yards to go along with 539 rushing yards. The receiving upside, touchdown equity, and the potential to get the 100-yard bonus on DraftKings make him a perfect candidate against a defense allowing 128.9 rushing yards per game.

Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $11,000 | FanDuel: $12,600

Henry has obviously regressed from the unstoppable force he was in 2024. But even for all the ugly games he’s had, it’s still impressive that he’s averaging 4.7 yards per carry with six touchdowns on the year. His 17-game pace would still put him on track for over 1,200 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

I’m partially hoping the Dolphins are dealing with a hangover from Sunday’s shocking win over the Atlanta Falcons. The defense played great limiting Atlanta to just 10 points and 213 yards of offense. However, on the season, this is still a defense allowing over 140 rushing yards per game and 26+ points per game to opposing offenses. And Henry has always been a player who gets better as the season progresses as highlighted in this tweet from Ian Hartitz.

He clearly lacks the receiving upside of Achane but I’d say there’s just as much touchdown equity with Henry and arguably a better shot that he gets the 100-yard rushing bonus so long as Lamar isn’t chucking five touchdowns against this defense again. The Dolphins are allowing the most rushing yards after contact per attempt (2.81) and Henry led the league in that category just a year ago.

Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins – DraftKings: $10,400 | FanDuel: $10,400

In four games without Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle is averaging 80 receiving yards per game and 16.3 fantasy points per game in PPR formats. And in one of those games, he only had 15 receiving yards. In the other three games he’s gone for at least 95 yards.

He’s definitely become Tua Tagovailoa’s WR1 in Hill’s absence. And the crazy thing is that there’s room for drastic improvement for Waddle as he only has 27 targets in those four games. The Ravens are allowing the fifth most receiving yards per game as this defense just has not looked very good. However, with Roquan Smith back in the lineup Sunday against the Bears, there looked to be more consistency and stability within the defense. But it’s awfully hard to ignore the upside of Waddle especially in a trailing game script against the Ravens.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: Core Plays

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins – DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $11,400

Tua is coming off arguably his best game of the season last week against the Atlanta Falcons. He threw four touchdown passes but barely eclipsed 200 passing yards. But let’s not get too excited and try to chase the production of last week. He still has 10 interceptions on the season including six total from Weeks 6 and 7.

Tua ranks 26th among qualified quarterbacks in EPA/Play (0.0), 29th in success rate (43.4%), and he’s 30th in average depth of target (6.6) according to Sam Hoppen of ESPN Bet. The matchup is good enough entering Thursday because the Ravens can’t get much going in terms of their pass rush as they rank 12th in blitz rate (28.3%) but they’re 30th in sack rate (3.3%). But the Baltimore secondary is easy to beat as they allow 250+ yards through the air per game.

Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $9,400 | FanDuel: $9,800

No pass catcher on Baltimore should be happier with Lamar Jackson returning than Zay Flowers. According to Davis Mattek, Flowers is the only receiver in the league seeing a target share above 27% while averaging less than 14.5 PPR points per game. Flowers has 55 targets this year and the next closest skill position player on Baltimore is at 30. He hasn’t scored since Week 1 and he has just one game this season with less than five receptions. You can definitely say he’s due for some positive regression.

In his only career game against Miami, Flowers saw just three targets. But he did catch all three for 106 yards and a touchdown, so the efficiency was off the charts. And this is a bit of a hometown narrative for Flowers since he grew up in Fort Lauderdale and he’ll have plenty of family in town for this game. You can definitely plug him in at Captain. The Dolphins look like they defend receivers well because teams are so efficient against them on the ground. Opposing quarterbacks are only averaging 28 pass attempts per game (6th fewest in the NFL).

But Miami tends to leave the middle of the field open because of their heavy Cover 2 schemes and over half of Zay’s targets are coming across the middle. So if he gets the ball in his hands, he’ll be able to make some magic happen as we’ve seen time and time again.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: Mid-Tier Plays

Rashod Bateman, WR, Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $6,400 | FanDuel: $5,000

Bateman’s a much better value play on FanDuel than DraftKings. The thing I always like about Bateman on Showdown slates is that ownership takes a dip because he’s a clear variance play. He doesn’t get the volume of Zay Flowers nor does he have the touchdown equity of Derrick Henry or Lamar Jackson. And he only has one game this year with over 8 fantasy points in PPR formats.

However, Bateman strangely thrives in primetime games. His only touchdown this season came on Monday Night Football back in Week 3 where he caught five-of-seven targets for 63 yards and a touchdown. He’s scored a touchdown in six of his last seven primetime games. So if you aren’t confident in him as a DFS play then maybe you get some exposure to his anytime touchdown props.

In three games in his career against Miami he’s averaging 4.7 receptions and 80.7 receiving yards with one touchdown in our sample size. He won’t get the volume that Flowers will, but this is still a great recommendation that can make a big play and possibly find the end zone for our Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS picks.

Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $8,600

If you’ve held Mark Andrews this long, you could be in for a treat on the Eve of Halloween for our TNF DFS picks. Andrews has scored in all three career games against Miami and to that point, he’s averaging 7.7 receptions on 9.0 targets for 91.7 receiving yards against this team. But his last game against Miami was over three years ago.

His volume has been down of late and I’m even somewhat concerned about the fact Isaiah Likely has run more routes than him in consecutive games. That’s basically the reason I can’t put him in as a core play.

But he was starting to get volume and emerge as a threat once again prior to Lamar’s injury. He even found the end zone twice against Detroit in Week 3 so I’m inclined to believe he can still contribute and he’s a favorite red zone target of Lamar’s. I just can’t seem to shake the route trends over the last two weeks though.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: Value Plays

Malik Washington, WR, Miami Dolphins – DraftKings: $4,800 | FanDuel: $7,400

The ceiling isn’t great, but Washington’s not a bad “floor” play whether you’re playing cash games or tournaments using our Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS picks. Washington has at least four receptions and five targets in four consecutive games and he managed to find the end zone in Week 8.

The potential for a negative game script plays into his favor nicely. The Dolphins run a fairly consolidated offense to Waddle and Achane. But since Tyreek Hill was lost due to injury, Washington’s been getting more involved of late and the Ravens have been susceptible to getting beat through the air.

Justice Hill, RB, Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $3,000

Hill wasn’t involved much in last week’s game but he’s still a very affordable running back who has four games with at least three receptions and in two of those games he recorded five catches. He likely needs a more competitive game script to really pop off. His best performance this year came in Week 4 which was a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore used him more because they had to abandon the run and Hill is a shifty pass catching option out of the backfield. There is upside here but if it’s a blowout victory for Baltimore, then there’s a cheaper running back we can consider.

Isaiah Likely, TE, Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $2,000 | FanDuel: $3,800

Earlier in the Mark Andrews section I did make note that Likely has technically run more routes than Andrews in each of Baltimore’s last two games, both before and after the Bye week.

The production overall for Likely is down, but the route share is encouraging and like all Baltimore pass catchers he gets a nice bump in value with Lamar Jackson returning. Lamar and Likely have really only appeared in one game together this year and it was the loss to the Chiefs where Jackson was hurt. With Jackson back under center, it definitely feels as if Likely is flying under the radar with this pricing and we know he has some touchdown equity in this matchup.

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $1,400 | FanDuel: $2,200

This is mostly a game theory recommendation. As of Wednesday morning, the Ravens are favored by more than a touchdown and for a Thursday night game, we have a pretty high implied total over 50 points. If this game turns into a blowout in favor of Baltimore, then Mitchell is a garbage time option. But keep in mind, the Ravens defense looked a bit better with the return of Roquan Smith.

Mitchell could get some late run if you need an absolute punt at this position. He displayed some nice efficiency and explosiveness last week against Chicago but only had four carries. He also gets some work as a kick returner, but I would say he may only get one or two chances at best on that front. If playing around with some Ravens stacks for this game, Mitchell works in 4:2 or 5:1 Baltimore lineups.

 

 

 

TNF DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

I typically shy away from at least one D/ST in a game with an implied total over 50 points. That’ll be the case with Miami for our TNF DFS picks. Miami does rank 5th in blitz rate (33.1%) but they’re 21st in sack rate (5.8%). Similarly enough, earlier in the article we mentioned that the Ravens are 12th in blitz rate (28.3%) but they’re 30th in sack rate (3.3%). However, the Ravens got Roquan Smith back at least and the Dolphins offensive line ranks 27th in pass block win rate (56%). With the Ravens favored by over a touchdown in a game with such a high total we can take some shots on the Baltimore D/ST. Tua Tagovailoa ranks 31st in turnover-worthy play rate (4.6%) so I want some exposure to Baltimore’s defense because a pick six is on the table. I will gladly avoid Miami’s defense with Lamar returning.

Tyler Loop had some bad performances without Lamar Jackson but he was able to kick three field goals and three extra points against the Chicago Bears last week. From Weeks 1-4 with Lamar Jackson active, Loop was averaging 10+ fantasy points per game with five field goals made from 40+ yards.

Riley Patterson is an okay play as part of Miami stacks. He has five performances with multiple field goals but he hasn’t made three in a game yet this year. He also has three games with one or zero field goals made, and he hasn’t made a kick from 50+ yards out. So I do have some concerns over the accuracy and reliability from deep but as a correlation play he works with any combination of an Achane/Waddle/Tua stack.

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Dolphins DFS Player Pool: TNF, 10/30

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