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Are the Miami Dolphins for real? They were last season, weren’t they? Those who didn’t have as optimistic a perspective on them this season (including myself) believed that the schedule was more difficult to the degree that they were unlikely to get as close to the playoffs as they did last year.
They are in the playoff hunt this year, after their fourth straight win brought them to 5-7. It appears they have had a rebirth on defense, where they are coming up with these crazy blitzes that are confusing opposing quarterbacks.
Maybe they catch a break this week as they host the New York Giants, who are in a transition of sorts on offense and will also have to dip into the depth chart for their backup quarterback.
Giants at Dolphins Team Totals
Time: Sunday, December 5 (1 PM ET)
Team Total Odds: New York Giants — Over 16.5 Points (-115) / Under 16.5 Points (-115)
The Play: GIANTS UNDER 16.5 POINTS (-115)
Daniel Jones is not going to play against the Dolphins, as he had suffered a neck injury against Philadelphia last week. So he hasn’t been cleared for contact, with Mike Glennon scheduled to make the start at QB for the Giants.
“At this point, we don’t feel 100 percent comfortable with him until the medical team clears him fully,” Judge said before Friday’s practice. “As of right now, we’ll rule him out.”
Of course, the line went up and the total dropped, but I’m not so sure it makes anything more appetizing for the Giants here. With Glennon behind center, the Giants will lose the kind of mobility they would have gotten out of Jones, and frankly, if new offensive play-caller Freddie Kitchens has some rabbits to pull out of his hat, we didn’t see them in a 13-point performance against the Eagles last week.
Miami doesn’t allow 71.4% completions like Philly does (more like ten percentage points lower) and they are quite a bit tougher against opposing tight ends, for example. So we don’t look for a scoring spree from Big Blue.
Buccaneers at Falcons Team Totals
Time: Sunday, December 5 (1 PM ET)
Team Total Odds: Atlanta Falcons – Over 19.5 Points (-115) / Under 19.5 Points (-115)
The Play: FALCONS OVER 19.5 POINTS (-115)
Yeah, maybe we’re reaching a little. But we were duly impressed with the additional life the Falcons’ offense showed with the presence of Cordarrelle Patterson, who came off an injury to rush for 108 yards and, as you know, is always a threat to run routes.
The Bucs can’t necessarily count the secondary as a strength right now, and they have surrendered 74% completions to tight ends, so perhaps this provides an opportunity for Kyle Pitts.
If you look at the numbers, it’s not a probability that Atlanta is going to control anything on the ground, which is why Patterson’s versatility (he’s also listed as a third-team safety LOL) comes in handy.
Cardinals at Bears Team Totals
Time: Sunday, December 5 (1 PM ET)
Team Total Odds: Chicago Bears – Over 17.5 Points (-110) / Under 17.5 Points (-120)
The Play: BEARS UNDER 17.5 (-120)
We wish we could get a better price here, but circumstances don’t dictate something big for the Bears. Andy Dalton starts again at quarterback, and while we recognize that he topped 300 yards against Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, what you get from him is still kind of bland.
Arizona has the league’s third best defense when it comes to points allowed per drive. So it is likely that scoring is going to be hard to come by for Chicago. For what it’s worth here, the Cards have surrendered just 6.5 yards per target to the tight end position. And only two teams have been worse scoring touchdowns in the red zone than the Bears.
Ravens at Steelers Team Totals
Time: Sunday, December 5 (4:25 PM ET)
Team Total Odds: Baltimore Ravens – Over 24.5 Points (-110) / Under 24.5 Points (-120)
The Play: RAVENS UNDER 24.5 POINTS (-120)
Once upon a time, there were a number of teams that were able to hold their opponents below 50% completions. Those days are long gone. It seems like 60% is the new standard, and Baltimore is one of four teams in the NFL to have limited opposing QB’s to less than 60%. We know that the Steelers have allowed 41 points to two straight opponents, but we went back and forth about the Ravens’ offense right now to go over 24.5 with them, because the team has failed to exceed 17 points in four of its last five games.
But among Pittsburgh’s problems are that they can’t run the ball the way they would like, and they are right down near the bottom of the league in rushing defense, allowing 4.8 yards per carry. Since the Ravens will keep running if you let them, it would seem they can do what they want. But that will chew clock. What is worrisome is that after Miami crafted a blueprint for how to rattle Lamar Jackson, he turned around after sitting out a week and got intercepted four times by Cleveland. Say what you want about the Steelers, but they are fourth in the NFL in sack percentage.
How’s that for a little back-and-forth?
