The Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills are both headed to an early vacation, as these two teams are out of no longer in contention for a playoff spot. Instead, they will look to end the season with a consolation victory. Will the Dolphins stifle the young and talented Josh Allen? Or will Allen and the Bills churn out one more good performance before going into offseason mode? In this meeting between two .500 teams the sportsbook favors the home team by just over a field goal.
Betting Preview for the Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills NFL Week 17 Game on December 30, 2018
The Dolphins were finally booted out of playoff contention with a 17-7 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Obviously, it was a horrendous and embarrassing loss, as what the score suggests, but at least there’s one more game left this year for Miami to try and look good. And it’ll come in a game against the Bills, whom Miami beat at home in Week 13, 21-17. In that game, quarterback Ryan Tannehill passed for only 137 yards, but had three touchdowns against only an interception on 16-of-24 completions. It was all Miami needed on offense, as its stop unit managed to force Buffalo to cough up the ball three times. The Bills have the second-highest turnover per game average in the NFL (2.0), so the Dolphins should expect extra possessions to come their way. After all, they are also third overall with 1.9 takeaways per contest.
The Dolphins are 3-2 straight up (SU) and 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last five games against Buffalo.
Betting on the Buffalo Bills (5-10)
We may have seen the last of running back LeSean McCoy in a Bills uniform, after he was put in the dog house by head coach Sean McDermott in last Sunday’s 24-12 road loss to the New England Patriots. If that’s the case, then Buffalo will leave added responsibility on the already burdened shoulder of rookie quarterback Josh Allen, though, at least he won’t have much pressure to deliver, considering Buffalo is out of playoff contention, too. Against the Pats, Allen threw for 217 passing yards and a touchdown with two interceptions on 20-of-41 completions. Although Miami’s defense can be opportunistic at times, Allen showed he’s capable of torching it, when he passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns, albeit with two interceptions, on 18-of-33 completions in the first meeting. More impressive was his wheels in that game, as he rushed for 135 yards on just nine carries.
The over is 3-1 in Buffalo’s last three home games despite the fact that it’s putting up only 15.4 points per contest.
