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New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins NFL Betting Odds & Spreads

Written November 20, 2008 by Jason Lowry

There is no question that one of the more interesting games this weekend comes in the form of the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots, as few can forget the performance Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins put on the Patriots back in week 3 when Miami took home a 38-13 win at Foxborough. Since that win the Dolphins have won 5 of 7 and now sit tied with the Patriots for 2nd in the AFC East at 6-4. Last week the Dolphins were able to sneak past the Raider 17-15, while the Pats lost a heartbreaker to the Jets 31-34 in overtime. For those of you wanting to do some NFL betting this weekend, the oddsmakers have the Dolphins 1.5 point favorites over the Patriots at BetUS.com

The Patriots get their chance at revenge, and its almost a must for this team if they want to stay in the thick of things in this division, as they would need to make up two games on the Dolphins with just 5 games remaining. The Patriots have traded wins and losses the last 4 weeks, and last week they nearly pulled off the comeback behind quarterback Matt Cassel who had his best game as a pro throwing for 400 yards and 3 scores. That wasn’t all Cassel did last week, as he was the teams leading rushing with 62 yards. Now thats good for Cassel, but bad for the Patriots offense, as unless you have a guy like Michael Vick under center, your quarterback shouldn’t be leading you in rushing. Last time around the Pats had just 79 yards on the ground, so if this team can’t get the run game going, its going to be real tough for this team to win this football game.

Last time these two teams faced off Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins made the Patriots looks like they had no idea what hit them, as the Dolphins used a number of different formations to score, as Brown had 4 rushing touchdowns and even threw for a touchdown. Last week against the Jets the Patriots let Brett Favre get back on track, as the veteran threw it 33 times for 258 yards and 2 scores, while Thomas Jones pounded it down their throats 30 times for 104 yards and a score. We expect a much better game out of this unit this week, as they have a better idea of what to expect this time around. Bet Patriots +1.5 at BetUS.com

Now we have already mentioned how much success the Dolphins offense had against the Patriots when these two teams first faced off, but its just hard to imagine that Bill Belichick and company are going to let that same thing happen again this week. Now that doesn’t mean the Dolphins will not try their unusual formations, but they are likely going to have to use more of the up the middle attack they have used to get back in the thick of things. Last week Ronnie Brown carried it 16 times for 101 yards, as the Dolphins had over 200 yards on the ground in this one. What really has got this offense clicking of late is the play of Ted Ginn Jr. as he once again led the team in passing, and got the Dolphins off to a good start with a 40 yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter. Now this team has squeaked by the Seahawks and Raiders the last two weeks, so there is no question its going to have to play much better if they want to take down the Pats this weekend.

The Dolphins defense is led by the veteran Joey Porter, as he continues to cause chaos on opposing teams quarterbacks. Last week against the Raiders he had 1.5 sacks, and has had at least half a sack in all but one game this year, including 3 when he went against Cassel and the Pats earlier this season. The Dolphins allowed just 226 total yards to the Raiders last week, and if this defense plays like this, I don’t care who they face they are going to have a chance at winning the game. The key this week is making sure the Pats run game stays silent and putting plenty of pressure on Cassel, as this would be a big time statement win for Miami. Bet Dolphins -1.5 at BetUS.com

Check out the latest NFL odds, and get some of the best NFL picks for this week from Betfirms.

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