The Miami Dolphins host the Minnesota Vikings at Sun Life Stadium this week. The game will begin Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
Miami was dominated by New England 41-13 last week. Mike Wallace had a great game in the loss, registering five receptions for 104 yards and one TD. Minnesota came up short as well, suffering a narrow defeat against Detroit 16-14. Kyle Rudolph had a good performance for the Vikings, recording seven catches for 69 yards.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 43 points and the Vikings are a big seven-point underdog. Sitting at 7-7 both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS), the Dolphins will look to improve as they head into Week 16. Over their last five games, the Dolphins have records of 2-3 both SU and ATS. When the Dolphins run the ball, they do so with authority. They rattle off 4.9 yards each time they rush during home games, third in the NFL. The Dolphins will be looking to pad their defensive stats this week as they face off against Minnesota’s offense, which averages a paltry 16.4 points per road game. Expect the Dolphins defense to really restrict Minnesota’s aerial assault. The Dolphins have the fourth-ranked pass defense in the NFL and give up only 209.2 passing yards per game. A vital part of the game will be if the Dolphins can attack Minnesota’s offensive line, which currently is 29th in the league in sacks allowed with 3.2 per game.
As for their opponent, the Vikings head into Week 16 with records of 9-5 ATS and 6-8 SU. The Vikings went 2-3 SU and 4-1 ATS over the last five games. Other teams have a high success rate running the ball against the Dolphins. It may be in Minnesota’s game plan to take advantage of the home team’s inability to stop the run, 26th in the league at 4.4 yards per carry. Shifting to the other side of the ball, the Minnesota defense can dominate if they take advantage of some favorable matchups. The Vikings’ secondary will be looking to pad their stats when they face off against the Dolphins, who rank 31st in terms of yards per passing attempt, with an average of only 9.3 yards. Minnesota has put in some strong special teams performances this season. The team has averaged 108.4 return yards per game, ranking them third in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIA, ATS Winner – MIA, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 9 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Miami’s last 9 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 7 games on the road.
Miami is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
Minnesota is 2-13-1 SU in its last 16 games, on the road.
Miami is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games when playing Miami.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Miami’s last 11 games at home.
Minnesota is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Miami.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Miami’s last 6 games when playing Minnesota.
Minnesota is 5-2 SU when leading at the half this season. Miami is 4-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Minnesota is 4-2 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Miami is 6-2 SU when leading after three quarters.
This season, Minnesota is 5-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and winless (0-5 SU) in games where it loses the turnover battle.
This season, Miami is only 2-4 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Miami passing attack is ranked only 20th in the league, while the Minnesota pass defense is ranked sixth. The Vikings’ passing game is ranked just 27th, compared to the fourth-ranked pass defense of the Dolphins.
The Miami offensive ground attack is ranked 14th in the league, while the Minnesota rush defense is only ranked 23rd. The Vikings’ rushing game is ranked 15th, compared to the 22nd-ranked run defense of the Dolphins.
Minnesota has given up 21.2 points per contest this year, which is ranked 13th in the league. Miami has put up 23.4 points per game this year and is ranked 12th overall.
