MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It seemed like an absurd gamble at the time.

The Baltimore Ravens, trailing the Miami Dolphins by three points with more than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, had a fourth-and-1 at their own 34-yard line.

“We had talked about it and decided that if it got to that, we were going to go for it,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.

The gamble worked, and Baltimore — in a game vital to both teams’ playoff hopes — rallied to defeat Miami 28-13 on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium.

The Ravens (8-5) overcame a 10-point deficit, engineering four long touchdown drives — 97, 75, 80 and 81 yards.

Miami (7-6) is just 3-3 at home this season, including two straight losses.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 25 of 33 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 1-yard run, and the Ravens’ defense got six sacks.

Baltimore outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who played his high school ball in Miami, had 3.5 sacks. He also set the Ravens’ single-season sacks record with 16.

“They did a good job getting around the edge,” said Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who absorbed the six sacks.

The Ravens overcame numerous obstacles in the game, including injuries to their secondary that left them with only two healthy cornerbacks.

In addition, star defensive tackle Haloti Ngata’s suspension left them vulnerable in the middle, and starting wide receiver Torrey Smith decided just before the game that he could not go due to a knee injury.

Timmy Jernigan, a rookie from Florida State, started in place of Ngata. And Kamar Aiken played in place of Smith, catching six passes for 65 yards and one touchdown.

Early in the game, it was all Miami. The Dolphins scored on their first possession, a 46-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis.

Miami then put together an 11-play, 66-yard drive that was capped by Tannehill’s 3-yard slant pass to wide receiver Brian Hartline. That gave Miami a 10-0 lead.

The Ravens bounced back and scored a touchdown with two seconds left in the first half. It was a 1-yard Flacco-to-Steve Smith pass, capping a 12-play, 97-yard drive that took 3:06.

Baltimore took a 14-10 lead on its first drive of the second half. The Ravens went 75 yards on 11 plays, capped by Flacco’s 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kamar Aiken.

What the Ravens said:

“We’re built for this time of year. We are a well conditioned team.” — Outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil.

What the Dolphins said:

“It’s out of our hands to some extent. But we will find a way to respond.” — Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, on how Sunday’s loss affects his team’s playoff chances at 7-6.

What we learned about the Ravens:

1. The Ravens’ defensive line can still put up impressive performances even without star DT Haloti Ngata, who is suspended for the rest of the regular season. Even without Ngata, the Ravens shut down the Dolphins’ running game after a rough first quarter. With the running game negated, the Ravens next went after Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, sacking him six times.

2. The Ravens are good at overcoming adversity. Earlier in the year, they lost their star RB, Ray Rice. Earlier this week, they lost their star DT, Haloti Ngata. And moments before the game, WR Torrey Smith decided that his knee injury would not allow him to play. In addition, Baltimore suffered some in-game injuries to its secondary, leaving the Ravens with just two healthy cornerbacks, which was especially problematic on special teams. But, through it all, the Ravens have overcome and appear — at 8-5 with a soft remaining schedule — poised to capture a playoff berth.

–QB Joe Flacco completed 25 of 33 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He also made two big plays with his legs. On the first one, he converted a fourth-and-1 on his own 35-yard line with a quarterback sneak. That was perhaps the key play of the game. The same play worked again late in the fourth quarter as he scored on a 1-yard QB sneak to put the game away.

–DT Tim Jernigan, a rookie second-round pick from Florida State, made his first career start. Starting in place of suspended DT Haloti Ngata, Jernigan was part of a Ravens defense that limited Dolphins running back Lamar Miller to just 53 yards, including only 21 in the final three quarters. As a team, Miami rushed for only 63 yards.

–WR Steve Smith dropped a would-be TD pass in the second quarter but recovered after that miscue. He finished with seven catches for 70 yards — both game highs — and one touchdown.

–OLB Elvis Dumervil had 3.5 sacks, terrorizing Miami’s offensive line. Dumervil, who played his high school ball at Miami’s Jackson High, set the Ravens’ single-season sack record with 16.

What we learned about the Dolphins:

1. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill still struggles to throw the deep ball or really any pass in which he has to try to beat the defense over the top. A prime example came early in the fourth quarter, when Tannehill had WR Mike Wallace open in the right corner of the end zone. Tannehill overthrew him, and the Dolphins had to settle for a field goal instead of taking a 17-14 lead. It was a key miss.

2. Injuries are crushing the Dolphins. With left tackle Brandon Albert out for the season, the Dolphins have had to reshuffle their line the past couple of games, and it has shown. On Sunday, the Dolphins gave up six sacks to Baltimore, which wrecked drives and ruined Miami’s timing. In addition to the Albert injury, the Dolphins were without their second-best and third-best cornerbacks — Cortland Finnegan and Jamar Taylor — and that forced them to give R.J. Stanford his first career start. He was victimized often in the final three quarters on Sunday. The Dolphins also lost LB Jelani Jenkins and S Louis Delmas on Sunday, further crippling their defense.

–QB Ryan Tannehill was accurate overall — completing 23 of 33 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown. He also avoided the big mistake — no interceptions or fumbles. But Tannehill took few risks. He completed mostly dinks and check-down passes, and his big chance at an over-the-top touchdown pass resulted in an overthrow of Mike Wallace. Miami settled for a field goal on that drive instead of taking a 17-13 lead, and it was a familiar failing for Tannehill this season.

–CB R.J. Stanford, who was out of football three weeks ago, made his first career NFL start and got his second career interception. On a play in which Dolphins DE Olivier Vernon pressured Ravens QB Joe Flacco, the ball was thrown high and up for grabs. Stanford beat veteran Steve Smith for the ball. Outside of that play, however, the Dolphins picked on Stanford repeatedly.

–RB Lamar Miller ran 12 times for 53 yards and a respectable 4.4 average. But after gaining 32 yards in the first quarter — when the Dolphins built a 10-0 lead — Miller was held in check. He gained just 21 yards in the final three quarters, when Miami scored just three points. Perhaps it was no coincidence that the Ravens stopped Miller and Miami in the final three quarters.

–WR Mike Wallace was mostly a non-factor on Sunday. The Dolphins’ highest-paid receiver was targeted just four times — two fewer than rookie Jarvis Landry. Wallace made three catches for just 39 yards. He was also overthrown for what would have been a touchdown on his fourth target.