The Oakland Raiders have not been a road favorite in nearly seven years, but they get their first chance Sunday in Miami.
Oakland Raiders Vs Miami Dolphins: Betting Odds, Preview and Prediction
Oakland was a road favorite back in Week 14 of the 2005 season and never again before this week. They lay 2.5 points in Miami, but their record as a favorite and their record against the Dolphins is making bettors nervous.
If the amount of betting on this game is any indication, fans either don’t care much about the game or don’t trust either team with the Week 2 point spread.
Both the Raiders and Miami Dolphins look to avoid falling to 0-2 when they clash at Sun Life Stadium in Miami this Sunday. The Dolphins were a 2.5-point home underdogs.
“It’s the lowest-bet game volume-wise of the week so far, so fans are unaccustomed to the Raiders as road chalk and uncomfortable with the Dolphins, period,” said Bovada spokesman Kevin Bradley.
Raider backers also fret over their team’s record as a favorite. In 20 recent games, the Raiders have covered three spreads when they are the chalk.
It is never a good thing when your long snapper is the biggest story of the game. That was the case for Oakland in last Monday night’s 22-14 loss at home to San Diego.
With their starting long snapper injured, the Raiders were forced to use their backup whose botched snaps led to one punt being blocked and two never getting off of the ground. The Raiders played well on defense but couldn’t overcome these disastrous errors.
At 3-3 against the Houston Texans with under three minutes to go in the first half last Sunday, Miami Dolphins +13.0 tickets were looking okay. That changed in a hurry however Houston scored three touchdowns in the final two minutes of the half fueled by two Miami turnovers.
Ryan Tannehill had a debut to forget with no touchdown passes and three interceptions as Miami fell 30-10.
While the final scores wouldn’t show it, Miami and Oakland both had solid defensive performances and were punished on the scoreboard by mistakes made on offense and special teams, respectively. That said, neither defense forced any turnovers, so there is room for improvement.
Both teams have serious issues at wide receiver. Miami is simply weak at the position while Oakland is dealing with injuries to its two bets wideouts in Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore. Moore is expected to return Sunday which would give the Raiders a huge boost on offense.
On paper, the Raiders appear to be the better team, even if they do lack depth. Oakland’s misery against Miami in recent years is a concern (Miami is 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games against the Raiders) and so is their behavior as chalk.
PICK: Dolphins +2.5
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