New England and Miami have both clinched playoff spots, but there’s still something to play for when the two teams meet in a divisional clash at Hard Rock Stadium down in Florida on New Year’s Day.
The Patriots haven’t wrapped up the top seed overall in the AFC yet as the Oakland Raiders can still catch them. New England leads the AFC East with a 13-2 record while Oakland is top of the AFC West at 12-3 and visit Denver in their season finale.
The Patriots hammered the New York Jets 41-3 at home last week while Miami beat Buffalo 34-31 in overtime on the road to clinch a wildcard spot. The Dolphins are 10-5 on the year and in second place in the division. These two teams met on September 18th with New England winning 31-24 at home.
Patriots vs Dolphins: Pinnacle NFL Betting Line:
- Spread: Pinnacle lists the Patriots at -10 points at +106 with the Dolphins +10 points at -117
- Over/under is 44.5 with the over at -109 and the under -101
Patriots vs Dolphins Betting Trends:
New England Patriots:
- Season record: 13-2 straight up, 12-3 against the spread
- The total has been under in five of New England’s past six contests
- New England has gone 5-0 in their past five outings
- The total has been under in five of New England’s past six road games
- New England is 5-0 on their past five road trips
- The total has been under in six of New England’s past nine meetings with Miami
- New England has gone 10-3 in their past 13 meetings with Miami
- New England has gone 1-3-1 against the spread on their past five trips to Miami
Miami Dolphins:
- Season record: 10-5 straight up and 9-5-1 against the spread
- The total has been over in each of Miami’s past five contests
- Miami has gone 9-1 in their past 10 outings
- Miami has gone 8-1-1 against the spread in their past 10 games
- Miami has gone 4-0-1 against the spread in their past five home games
- The total has been over in six of Miami’s past seven home encounters
- Miami has gone 5-0 in their past five home outings
- Miami has gone 6-11-1 against the spread over their past 18 home games
- Miami has gone 4-8-1 against the spread in their past 13 games against New England
- The total has been under in six of Miami’s past nine games with New England
- Miami has gone 3-10 in their past 13 meetings with New England
New England Patriots – A Closer Look:
New England drilled the Jets 41-3 last weekend as they hope to clinch the top seed in the AFC with another win this weekend. Quarterback Tom Brady passed for 214 yards and three touchdowns against New York while running back LeGarrette Blount added a pair of rushing touchdowns from a yard out. The offense obviously had a great game, but so did the defense. New England held the Jets to only 239 yards in the game and New York was just one for 11 on third downs. The Pats also had four takeaways with cornerback Malcolm Butler leading the way with a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
New England’s offense and defense are both ranked top-five in the league and they allow the fewest points against per game on average at just 15.7 per week. They’ve been unbeatable on the road so far this season with seven consecutive victories and are also 6-1 against the spread away from home. They still need to beat Miami to guarantee the top AFC seed though or hope that Oakland loses if they can’t get the job done down in Florida. With top spot and home-field advantage on the line you can bet the Patriots will be highly motivated.
Miami Dolphins – A Closer Look:
The Miami Dolphins have won nine of their past 10 games to make the playoffs and breathed a sigh of relief after their 34-31 thriller in overtime against Buffalo last week. They also got some help as Kansas City downed Denver to eliminate the Broncos, last season’s Super bowl champs. Miami will now try their luck in the playoffs for the first time since back in 2011. The Dolphins’ defense was shaky against Buffalo, but the offense came through in the clutch even though regular starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed his second straight game.
Backup quarterback Matt Moore completed 16 of his 30 passing attempts for 233 with a pair of touchdown tosses and a pickoff. The Dolphins’ best player though was running back Jay Ajayi as he scored a touchdown and ran for 206 yards. Ajayi has now reached the 200-yard mark on three occasions this season. He also ran for 57 yards to set up the winning field goal for kicker Andrew Franks, who booted the ball through the uprights from 55 yards out for the longest score of his career. Miami upset New England 20-10 in the final game of last season, but New England has won seven of their past 10 meetings.