Four Ravens X-Factors vs. Dolphins

If there was ever a more perfect time for the Ravens' first-round rookie to make his first big splash play for the team and silence some of his growing critics, this is emphatically it. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is tied for the most interceptions thrown, with 10, including a whopping 6 in his last three games. There will be plays to be made on the ball at the second and third levels of the Ravens' defense, and Starks could very well end up in position to make one of them at some point, especially if Lamar Jackson and the offense jump out to a big lead and force Miami to abandon the run and air it out in catch-up mode. Even if Starks doesn't end up taking the ball away, even a nice pass breakup to prevent a completion would mark a career first for the former SEC star at the University of Georgia.

FB Patrick Ricard

After missing the Ravens' first six games with a lingering calf injury that he reaggravated and had to let fully heal, the five-time Pro Bowler made his long-awaited 2025 debut last week against the Bears. Even though he played just 14 snaps on offense, which were just 22.6% of the team's total, his impact on what had been an inconsistent and poor situational rushing attack was apparent. Ricard delivered a crushing block that put a linebacker on his butt and made key one on the second of Henry's two goal-line touchdowns. Against the Dolphins, he will likely see the field early and even more often as he serves as the Ravens' enforcer and tone-setter in the run game, which they will look to establish at the onset and with authority under a national spotlight.

TE Isaiah Likely

The fourth-year pro is also one of the most explosive playmakers in the Ravens offense, but he has yet to record more than a pair of receptions in a single game and has just 26 combined receiving yards since making his 2025 debut in Week 4. However, not only was that his first game of the season after missing the first three weeks while recovering from foot surgery, it also happened to be the same game in which star quarterback Jackson suffered his injury.

Their rapport has grown stronger each season since Likely emerged as one of the brightest gems of the Ravens' massive 2022 draft class. In the last matchup between these two team's in Week 17 of the 2023 season, Likely only caught two passes but made the most of them by scoring on both. Similar to Mitchell, he doesn't need an abundance of touches to have a big impact on this game, so look out for him as a threat after the catch as well in the red zone in contested catch situations.