Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns (-1.5), Total 41 |
Miami is searching for its first victory of the season after dropping back-to-back home contests to the New England Patriots (38-24) and Houston Texans (23-13). The Dolphins also failed to cover the spread in both instances.
The players are still fully committed to the team and coaching staff, as they will now play consecutive games on the road. “Without a doubt man,” Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby said about backing his coaching staff. “These guys are awesome.”
Through two games of the season, only three teams have had more chances in the red zone than the Miami Dolphins. The main problem is scoring touchdowns in that area, as the team has come away with just four such scores inside the 20-yard line.
Quarterback Chad Henne needs to become more consistent, as he threw for 416 yards in the opener against New England, but connected on 12 of 30 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown and interception against the Houston Texans.
Miami has lost three straight in this series, including a 13-10 loss as 5.5-point home favorites on Dec. 5, 2010. The Dolphins finished that game with a 281-252 advantage in yardage.
Defensively, there’s plenty of concern through two games, as the unit is giving up a league-worst 483.5 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks have been torching the secondary and have 120.4 rating against them.
This is the fifth time in six years that Miami has started 0-2, but the Dolphins play their next three on the road, where they went 6-2 last year. Miami is also 5-0 ATS as a road underdog of a field goal or less.
Dolphins betting fans will find that the team is also 11-5 ATS in road games and 2-6 ATS in September contests.
Cleveland returns home after picking up a 27-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts as one-point road favorites, which was a much-needed victory after dropping the season opener to the Cincinnati Bengals at home as 6.5-point home favorites.
The Browns are 1-1 for the first time since 2007 heading into Sunday and everyone in the locker room is giving high praise to first year head coach Pat Shurmur. “We have plenty of room to improve,” commented Browns tight end Alex Smith. “We’re a young team. There’s always something to be fixed.”
Quarterback Colt McCoy is definitely the leader, coming off a solid performance that saw him complete 22 of 32 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. He has found running back Peyton Hillis out of the backfield, who has been more of a threat in the passing game than on the ground.
The team is still preaching a balanced attack, throwing the ball 32 times and rushing it 34 in last week’s contest. The running back combination of Hillis and Montario Hardesty is one of the best in football.
NFL betting handicappers will find that the Browns are 7-10 ATS in home games, but 2-1 ATS when favored in front of the home faithful at a field goal or less.
It’s likely that everyone’s NFL pick in this contest will be the Dolphins due to their 11-5 ATS mark as an underdog, while the Browns have failed to cover five straight home games.
