'Tis Wednesday, good fellows!
And thus may we commence our weekly football filament!
Having been the favoured side at home against New England the Miami Dolphins now traverse afar, deep into the desert, to challenge the nefarious Las Vegas Raiders, in what is expected to be a hard fought contest.
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Oddsshark Preview:
December 26, 2020, 8:15 PM ET
Allegiant Stadium
Miami
Dolphins
9-5 (11-3 ATS)
Las Vegas
Raiders
7-7 (7-7 ATS)
Predicted Score
23.9
25.8
Las Vegas will Win, Cover the Spread, and the Total will go Over.
Opening Odds Analysis
The game opened with the Raiders as favorites at -1.5 but the line has shifted in favor of the Dolphins, who are now favorites at -2.5 across the board. The total opened at 46.5 and has moved up slightly to 47 and 48 depending on the sportsbook.
Miami News & Notes
The Dolphins defense has been the story of their season. The Dolphins have allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL and lead the league with 26 forced turnovers. Star cornerback Xavien Howard is starting to garner Defensive Player of the Year buzz as the young playmaker now tops the league with nine interceptions.
The numbers are underwhelming, but Tua Tagovailoa now sports a 5-2 record as a starter with nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. The rookie quarterback has not exactly been putting the team on his back, but he is playing competent, safe football that gives his team a chance to win every week.
Tagovailoa has not had a full complement of weapons at his disposal (which could be contributing to the mediocre numbers) and that could continue this weekend as DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki and Jakeem Grant are all questionable for Week 16.
Las Vegas News & Notes
The Las Vegas Raiders have certainly had an up-and-down season, at times looking great and at other times looking like a bottom-five team in the league. The defense has certainly been bottom five as only three teams have allowed more points than the Raiders. Only five teams have created fewer turnovers and only four teams are allowing more yards on a per play basis.
The Raiders have been much better on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Derek Carr is having one of the best statistical years of his career and now ranks ninth in completion percentage, ninth in quarterback rating and 10th in QBR. The problem is Carr was hurt in Vegas’ Week 15 loss to the Chargers and is questionable for this game.
If Carr is unable to play, veteran Marcus Mariota would get the start. Mariota was 17-for-28 for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception in Week 15, adding 88 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Betting Pick: Dolphins -2.5
The Dolphins are the better team, have a far better defense and should not have trouble scoring on the Raiders. Meanwhile, the Raiders could be without their starting quarterback.
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It's another must win for the playoffs. It gets us the ten wins, but i'm afraid it'll take 11 this year to go to the dance. I'll be honest, i'm more worried about Mariotta than I am Carr. We're going to have to rough him up a little bit to keep him in check. Do that, and we should be ok. This will be a close game.
PhinFan1968 likes this. -
I think we beat the Raiders by a decent margin this weekend as we dial up pressure on Mariota. The ground game will continue but hey, we might have some receivers to throw at this week as well!
Miami wins it, 30-13. X also gets two more picks (one if Carr starts) to add to his impressive 2020 collection.PhinFan1968 likes this. -
PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member
Every week is a playoff week for this team, like Flo said. LV has an offense that, when clicking, can put up a lot of points quick...luckily we have a defense that specializes in preventing that exact situation. Their running backs are no joke when they get ticking too, so it's gonna be a chess match for 4 quarters.
I'm not so sure they get to the over...kinda surprised the Dolphins are favored on the road. LV is in a bit of a funk though so I guess it makes sense. Coming up short against KC their last game seems to have broken them...their last 4 games haven't been good at all.
Need the good guys to punch 'em in the mouth and keep punching! Miami 27-13 -
Carr participates in full practice today. More than likely the starting QB Saturday night
KeyFin likes this. -
Gaskin also activated from the C-19 list. I was going to cheekily add Ahmed into my fantasy football final line-up this week but I guess Gaskin will be numero uno in the pecking order, won't he?
KeyFin likes this. -
Sucks that I don't have the NFL Network anymore.
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Was watching NFL Now on the NFLN and waited for the preview of the Dolphins raiders game and all they talked about is how Miami is going to find a way to defend Raiders TE Darren Waller. Even if this was the AFC Championship Game this is probably the disrespect we would still get from the terrible Networks who ignore the fact that Miami will soon be a scary good team in the NFL.
Can't wait for a dolphins win on saturday! It's times like this when its literally us against the rest of the NFL. Miami vs. Analysts, commentators, fans and teams.
It's been personal for a very long time. -
PS. Don’t forget the refs, especially when we play the Patriots.Canadianphinfan likes this. -
I personally like us being the underdog that gets overlooked, but that's honestly not happening anymore with NFL teams. They know we're the real deal and there's not an easy way to beat us in the passing game. With our run D improving every week, we are a nightmare match-up for just about anyone....and we haven't had a single skill player on offense starting except for our rookie QB! Once our offense even partially catches up, we're going to be a top-5 team for a very long time. -
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I know we're getting to see the Fins a day early, but because of the holiday and already having a few days off, this kickoff feels like it's taking absolutely forever to arrive!
resnor and Cashvillesent like this. -
PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member
Fastest ball-carrier this season so far?
Kinda surprising:
https://www.nfl.com/videos/next-gen-stats-top-5-fastest-ball-carriers-through-sunday-of-week-15Last edited: Dec 26, 2020 -
Hype..
Miami Dolphins (@miamidolphins) Tweeted:
Prime. Time. Under the lights.
#FinsUp x @Bose
#MIAvsLV - 12/26 on @NFLNetwork https://t.co/PRMpHlnfl3
xphinfanx and PhinFan1968 like this. -
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Hope everyone had a good Christmas!
Everyone picking us tonight on NFLN. Can't remember that last time I've seen that for us on a prime time game.resnor likes this. -
No Parker? Come on.
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Well that was a pretty underwhelming start on O against a pretty bad D statistically.
Now a big punt return too. Not the start I was hoping to see. -
Miami looks surprised they were supposed to be playing a football game tonight.
PhinFan1968 and brandon27 like this. -
Carr telegraphed that sneak 200%. Already leaning into the line before the play. Apparently the D didn't notice
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Flattest the team has looked in months
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Getting manhandled up front by one of the worst defenses in the league so far. Guess that's why our offense is near the bottom of the league as well.
Nice throw there from Tua go pick up the first down. -
Really missing Kindley on the OL it looks like.
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PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member
LV D came to play...Dolphins not-so-much. -
Raiders knowing we won't throw it deep is a huge advantage on defense. Hopefully our defense can get us some short fields or put up some points.
brandon27 likes this. -
I’ll be very disappointed if Grant is on the field for anything other than kick returns or for an occasional gadget play next season
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Getting out coached for the first time in awhile
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Looking like the defense is going to have to make some big plays or force a turnover or two if we are going to win this one so far.
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This feels a lot like the Broncos game. Gotta step it up on both sides of the ball ASAP or the playoffs are done.
mlb1399 and PhinFan1968 like this. -
and just like that; there's the defense making a play with the sack. Time for the offense to wake up.
PhinFan1968 and xphinfanx like this.
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