Miami Dolphins RB Jeff Wilson Jr. on Sunday’s matchup in Baltimore: This is the football that you really love as a kid

Can the Miami Dolphins upset the Ravens in Baltimore?

• By
  
  Jacob Mendel
  
• on December 29, 2023 9:04 pm

Jeff Wilson Jr. helped the Dolphins sap clock against the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys, and a trip to Baltimore means Miami’s schedule isn’t getting easier in Week 17. That said, the top spot in the AFC playoff picture is within reach just two weeks before the postseason tournament begins.

The Dolphins would need to close the season with back-to-back wins and reach 13 wins to seal the No. 1 seed — something that’s happened just twice in franchise history (1972, 1984) — starting Sunday against the Ravens.

“This is the football that you really love as a kid, you dream about, you fantasize about these type of games because I played in Baltimore before so I know the crowd, the energy is going to be electric because they know the stakes just as well as we do,” Wilson said on Wednesday. “So to go out there and be in that environment and that’s what we’re entering into and that’s what it is from every week from here on out so to go and get those pre-trials right now, I feel like it’s tremendous for our team and I can’t wait for it.”

Wilson had carries for 14 yards on Miami’s final drive against Dallas before Jason Sanders kicked the game-winning field goal. Last week marked just the third time he’s had at least six touches in a game this season.

“I feel like the more I get in the league, the bigger it gets,” Wilson said. “It’s just to a point where I’m ready to just knock it over and me knocking it over and just letting the world know that I can play and don’t ever play with me on my name again and that’s just kind of where it’s at.

“I’ve been around the league a long time so I don’t like to play games, so it’s business and that’s really what it is.”

De’Von Achane played 55 percent of snaps last week while Raheem Mostert battled a leg injury. Wilson stepped in for 15 plays and looks forward to carrying that momentum into Baltimore.

The Ravens rank No. 12 with 103.4 rushing yards allowed per game — roughly 30 yards less than Miami’s average on the ground. With Mostert and Achane battling injuries, will coach McDaniel lean into WIlson’s physicality to move the sticks and keep Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson on the sideline?

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