New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Betting Preview
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
When: Sunday, January 1, 2017, 1:00 PM ET
Line: New England Patriots (-10) at Miami Dolphins (+10); total: 44.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
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Betting on the New England Patriots (-10)
With great playoff positioning already in the books, the New England Patriots still refused to let their guards down in Week 16 as they obliterated the New York Jets, 41-3.
As the score would indicate, everything went for New England on Christmas Eve. Tom Brady only needed 214 passing yards to trounce the Jets and put up three passing touchdowns on them, and running back LeGarrette Blount pitched just enough with a couple of one-yard rushing scores of his own as well.
While the offensive outburst was nice, this victory was all about the Patriots’ defense. Their stop unit limited New York to just 239 yards on offense and just 1-of-11 on third downs along with a whopping four takeaways. Stud cornerback Malcolm Butler was the real star of the game, as he came up with three of his team’s four turnovers (two picks and a fumble recovery).
The Pats currently possess a top-five offense and defense alike, and with their D’s stunning performance on Saturday, they’re now tops in scoring defense at just 15.7 points allowed per contest. Throw in the fact that they’re undefeated in seven road games this season (6-1 ATS) and that they’re not yet guaranteed the top seed in the AFC playoffs unless they win on Sunday, and you can bet that Bill Belichick and his boys won’t take their feet of the gas pedal just yet against the Dolphins in the regular-season finale.
Betting on the Miami Dolphins (+10)
The Miami Dolphins will take their narrow 34-31 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday any which way they want. After all, they got some help the day after from the Denver Broncos, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs to automatically vault the ‘Fins into the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
While Miami’s defense was rather suspect against the Bills, the offense seemed to have never missed a beat even without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill running the offense for the second-straight week. Backup QB Matt Moore once again did enough for Miami’s passing game by going 16-of-30 for 233 passing yards, two touchdowns and only one interception.
The real hero on Christmas for the Dolphins, however, was running back Jay Ajayi, who went berserk for 206 rushing yards and a score for his third 200-yard rushing game of the season. Ajayi even had a dazzling 57-yard run to set up kicker Andrew Franks’ game-winning field goal (Franks also had a career-best 55-yard kick to tie the game in regulation).
Even with its playoff ticket punched in already, Miami could still make Week 17’s divisional showdown interesting considering that the team has won nine of its last 10 games and had also upset the Patriots in last season’s final regular-season bout, 20-10. Then again, the Dolphins have lost seven of their last 10 meetings against New England overall (4-5-1 ATS), and will be better off if they just opted to prepare for the real postseason battle ahead.
Writer’s Prediction
The Patriots (-10) secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC’s side of the playoffs, 33-21.
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