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Lamar Jackson wanted to look ahead Tuesday. He didn’t want to focus on the Week 4 hamstring injury that sidelined him for a month, didn’t want to talk about how close he came to playing Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

“I want to focus on Thursday night,” he said of the Ravens’ prime-time game against the Miami Dolphins, “and what’s going on now.”

But there is value in looking back — not to last month but to 2018, when Jackson helped orchestrate the kind of late-season turnaround the Ravens now need. When Jackson took over for the injured Joe Flacco as a rookie that year, the team was 4-5. After a Week 10 bye, the Ravens’ dwindling playoff odds were down to 36.1%, according to ESPN. Then they won six of their final seven regular-season games to claim the AFC North, launch Jackson’s career in Baltimore and perhaps save coach John Harbaugh’s job.

After a 30-16 win Sunday over Chicago, the Ravens’ record is worse (2-5) but their playoff odds are less dire (46.7%, according to ESPN). Still, the ask is the same: Make the most of an accommodating late-season schedule; avoid the potholes that other, more talented Ravens teams have careened into; and find a way back into the postseason. Jackson’s made it there in every season he’s started at least 13 games.

“Every game is going to be like a win-or-go-home game,” he said. “This is the first season ever [that we’re] starting off this slow. So it’s do or die right now, each and every week.”

And it starts Thursday night. Here’s what to watch in the Ravens’ Week 9 game against the Dolphins (2-6) in Miami Gardens, Florida. All stats are courtesy of Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted.

1. What could a fully operational Ravens offense look like in the weeks to come? Thursday might offer a long-awaited preview.

Because of early-season injuries, offensive coordinator Todd Monken has had only a handful of opportunities to package his preferred personnel on the field together. Tight end Isaiah Likely didn’t make his season debut until Week 4. Fullback Patrick Ricard was sidelined until Sunday. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has played just 73% of the team’s offensive snaps.

All of which has kept Monken from tapping into his most experienced groupings. Last year, for example, the Ravens ran a team-high 84 plays — or nearly five per game — with Jackson; running back Derrick Henry; their top two wide receivers, Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman; their top two tight ends, Mark Andrews and Likely; and their usual starting offensive line. Together, they averaged 6.7 yards per play, which would’ve led the NFL.

This year? The Ravens have run just four plays total with Jackson, Henry, Flowers, Bateman, Andrews, Likely and their usual starting offensive line together. They’ve averaged just 3.8 yards on those three pass plays and one run.

If the Ravens can find their old chemistry, their early-season scoring pace could return as well. Miami has allowed opponents to score on 50.6% of their drives, the second-worst rate in the NFL.

“The mantra coming out of the bye was, like, ‘New season, new us,’” Likely said Tuesday. “It’s really just preaching [about] wiping the slate clean. Whatever happened in the past, let it stay in the past, and let’s try to focus on [going] 1-0 every week from this point on.”

2. Jackson’s return should lift every facet of the Ravens’ offense. But it should help Henry in particular.

With Jackson on the field this season, the All-Pro running back has 48 carries for 285 yards (5.9 per carry). With him off the field, he has 61 carries for 225 yards (3.7 per carry). Last year, Henry’s first in Baltimore, he attempted just five runs total without Jackson sharing the same backfield.

“I’m just my worst critic of myself,” Henry said after finishing with 71 yards (3.4 per carry) and two touchdowns against Chicago. “But I’ll get through it, watch the film, and we’ll pass it, even though it’ll be hard. I will just get ready for Miami.”

The Dolphins’ run defense looks like a stiffer test than it did a few weeks ago. Through Week 6, Miami was last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed (168.5 per game) and 30th in rushing average (5.6). It also ranked 30th in expected points added per rush and 23rd in rushing success rate, according to analytics site RBSDM.com.

But, over the past two weeks, the Dolphins rank third in EPA and success rate. They held the Cleveland Browns to 104 yards (3.2 per carry) in a Week 7 loss and Atlanta to 45 yards (2.6 per carry) in a Week 8 blowout win. Star Falcons running back Bijan Robinson finished with a season-low 24 rushing yards Sunday.

3. Quietly, Andrews is on the verge of breaking another Ravens receiving record. Very, very quietly.

Andrews (5,738 career receiving yards) is 40 yards away from passing wide receiver Derrick Mason (5,777) for the most in franchise history. Andrews (460 career catches) is also eight receptions away from passing tight end Todd Heap (468) for the second most in franchise history and 12 away from passing the first-place Mason (471).

Andrews has had a quiet start to what might be his final year in Baltimore. He has 24 catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and he’s averaging just 1.4 yards per route run, according to Pro Football Focus, which would easily be a career low over a season.

Still, Andrews has been the Ravens’ most reliable option at the position. Likely, who missed the Ravens’ first three games while recovering from a foot injury, has just five catches for 26 yards and is averaging a team-worst 0.33 yards per route run.

With Jackson set to return, Thursday’s game could be a breakout opportunity for both. Miami has allowed 50 catches on 60 targets to tight ends for 499 yards this season, sixth most in the NFL.

4. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta should get a good, long look at his pass rush Thursday — along with some pieces he could add to it.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has taken 52 drop-backs this season on third-and-7 or longer, tied for the third most in the NFL. In three of his eight starts, Tagovailoa has dropped back on third- or fourth-and-long at least eight times. On those 26 drop-backs, he has taken eight sacks and 15 pressures.

The Ravens will need to take advantage of Miami’s lackluster offensive line, which ranks 27th in ESPN’s pass block win rate. They had just one sack Sunday and four quarterback hits against Chicago, though they forced quarterback Caleb Williams into a pair of intentional-grounding penalties. Overall, the Ravens enter Week 9 ranked 30th in sack rate and pressure rate.

Even with Carl Lawson added to the practice squad and Tavius Robinson and Adisa Isaac set to return from injuries this winter, DeCosta is expected to look for edge rush help ahead of the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline. Two potential targets could be inside Hard Rock Stadium, with Miami rumored to be open to trading defensive end Bradley Chubb (four sacks) and linebacker Jaelan Phillips (two sacks).

Harbaugh said Tuesday that trade discussions with DeCosta are a “regular dialogue” this time of year. “We’re right across the hall from each other, so it’s pretty regular — multiple times a day," he said.

5. The Ravens won the turnover battle for only the second time this season Sunday. And cornerback Nate Wiggins’ interception might only be the start of a string of takeaways for a defense that needs them.

The next three projected starting quarterbacks on the Ravens’ schedule — Tagovailoa, the Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy and the Cleveland Browns’ Dillon Gabriel — are among the most turnover-prone in the NFL.

Tagovailoa, whose 10 interceptions are tied with the Las Vegas Raiders’ Geno Smith for the most in the league this season, has a 4.6% turnover-worthy-play rate, second highest among quarterbacks with at least 200 drop-backs, according to PFF. (Only Spencer Rattler, newly benched by the New Orleans Saints, has more.)

McCarthy, who’s appeared in just two career games because of injuries, has two touchdown passes, three interceptions and a 6.6% turnover-worthy-play rate. And Gabriel, a third-round pick who’s 1-3 as a starter while throwing five touchdowns and two picks, has a 5.3% rate.

The Ravens have forced just four turnovers this season (two interceptions and two fumbles), tied for second fewest in the NFL.

“So much of that is just putting pressure on the offense, putting pressure on the quarterback and putting pressure on the ball carriers and receivers,” Harbaugh said Monday. “You create enough tension to put them on their heels and just put them in tough spots, and the ball comes your way. But we need more of that. … That’s the difference. That’s what wins you games.”