Patriots vs. Dolphins Free Pick
MIAMI, FL (The Spread) – AFC East rivals clash in Miami today when the Dolphins host the Patriots at 1:00PM ET. Will the Pats cover as a road favorite?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Patriots are 4-point home favorites over the Dolphins, while the over/under total is currently sitting at 46.5 points. New England opened as 3.5-point road favorites before the line was bet up, while the total opened at 47 and has been bet down slightly.
The Patriots hope to have tight end Rob Gronkowski back in the mix after losing him for most of 2013 due to injuries. Tom Brady also returns to an offense that added tight end Tim Wright and running back James White over the past few months. The defense could also be better than at any point over the last three seasons and will get a boost from the return of defensive tackle Vince Wilfork (ACL surgery). Chandler Jones could be in store for another double-digit sack season.
Coach Joe Philbin is on the hot seat heading into this season but if his quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, can put together a breakout performance than the Dolphins should at least contend in the AFC East. They still don’t have enough talent to go toe-to-toe with the Patriots for a full season, but a wild card berth isn’t out of the question. That said, the offensive line was rebuilt in the offseason and must come together, and several players on both sides need to overachieve if Miami is going to save its head coach.
NFL FREE PICK: Take the under. According to latest NFL trends, the under is 4-0 in the last four meetings between these two teams. The under is also 5-1 in the Patriots’ last six games on grass and 6-2 in their last eight games versus divisional opponents. On the other side, the under is 4-0-1 in the Dolphins’ last five home games, 10-1 in their last 11 divisional games and 6-1 in their last seven games overall. The under is also 6-1 in Miami’s last seven games in Week 1 and 24-9-2 in its last 35 games versus AFC opponents.
2014 NFL WEEK 1 FREE PICK: PATRIOTS/DOLPHINS UNDER 46.5
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