Dolphins Raiders Betting – Two Break-Even Teams Try To Remain In Playoff Hunt
The Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders are both sitting at 5-5 as they prepare for their meeting this Sunday in Oakland. Both teams desperately need this game.
NFL Betting: Miami Dolphins @ Oakland Raiders
Why To Bet On The Dolphins
The best thing going for Miami this week is that the Raiders have been brought down to earth. Nothing worked well for Oakland in a blowout loss in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. It needs to be said that the Raiders very easily could have lost against the Kansas City Chiefs before their recent bye week. A dropped interception by the Chiefs on the final drive of regulation was the only thing separating Oakland from a damaging loss. It also bears mentioning that the Raiders have generally fattened up on mediocre teams this season. In an NFL campaign when the two West divisions are by far the worst in the league, Oakland has won all of its games against them. The Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams in the NFC West, and have beaten Denver, San Diego, and the aforementioned Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. Coach Tom Cable’s crew is winless against teams in the AFC’s other three divisions. Guess where the Miami Dolphins play? Yeah – the AFC East, which is top-heavy with the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. Miami’s 5-5 record is definitely stronger and more impressive than Oakland’s 5-5 mark. The Dolphins are, on balance, a better team, and that’s a good reason to take them on the West Coast this week.
Why To Bet On The Raiders
While the Dolphins might be the better squad at most positions, the great and substantial inconvenience facing Miami is that it doesn’t know who will play quarterback this weekend in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Dolphin quarterbacks have been brutalized over the past two seasons. Last year, “wildcat” running specialist Pat White got knocked out for the season with an injury. This year, quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Chad Henne have both been sent to the infirmary with ugly injuries. Miami’s only recourse at quarterback in its most recent game was Tyler Thigpen, a number-three quarterback who had a cup of coffee as the starter for Kansas City a few seasons ago, but never did enough to maintain his status as a top guy on an NFL roster. Thigpen was absolutely awful on Nov. 18 in a shutout loss to the Chicago Bears. If Miami can’t get Henne healthy enough to play (Pennington is not going to return anytime soon), it won’t matter if the rest of the Dolphins are generally better than the Raiders. Tyler Thigpen means victory for Oakland this week, and there’s really no other way to say it. Playing this game at home also helps the Raiders as well.
How The Game Will Play Out
The whole reason why there’s no line on this game is that Miami’s quarterback situation has not yet been fully resolved. That fact means that the outcome of this contest depends entirely on the ultimate answer to the question, “Will Henne or Thigpen start?” The sense here is that Henne would have been announced as the starter if he was healthy enough. Thigpen will get the nod, which means Oakland will win.
Dolphins Raiders Betting Pick: Raiders
