The Miami Dolphins (4-5) host the Dallas Cowboys (2-7) at Sun Life Stadium this week. Miami has had a subpar season, but has shown signs of life lately, winning three of its last five. The game will begin Sunday, Nov 22 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
Miami won in a tight one over the Eagles 20-19 last week. Reshad Jones led the way for the Miami defense in the win, registering seven tackles, one sack, and one interception. Dallas didn’t have the same success as Miami, getting beat by the Buccaneers 10-6. Jeff Heath led the way for the Dallas defense, totaling two tackles and two interceptions.
Miami is favored by a slight one-point margin in its matchup against the Cowboys. The matchup currently has a 46-point Over/Under (O/U).
Heading into Week 11 of league action, the Dolphins are 4-5 for both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last five games, the Dolphins have records of 3-2 for both SU and ATS. The Dolphins have seen an uptick in scoring recently, averaging 25 points during the last five games. They average 21.2 points per game on the season. The Dolphins, who are averaging 129.6 yards on the ground over those last five games, have improved upon their season rushing average of 102.8 yards. Miami has a particularly strong return game. The team has averaged 144.7 return yards each home game, the most in the NFL.
As for their opponent, the Cowboys have 2-7 SU and ATS records this season. The Cowboys went 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS over the last five games. The Dolphins have struggled to stop their opponents’ running games. The Cowboys will look to find weaknesses in a run defense that ranks 31st in the NFL with 135.6 rushing yards allowed per game. The Cowboys give up 18.2 points per road game and have a top-five ranked defense. The pass rushers for the Cowboys could have the upper hand in their matchup this week against the Dolphins, who rank 26th in the league with an average of three sacks allowed per home game. The Dolphins defense seems to start off slow some days. The Cowboys can take an early advantage against Miami and its league-worst average of eight first-quarter points allowed. Dallas tends to control the time of possession during games, averaging a time of 34:38 for second in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia, ATS Winner – Mia, O/U – Over
Notes
Miami is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Miami’s last 12 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Miami’s last 5 games at home.
Miami is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Miami is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami’s last 8 games when playing Dallas.
Miami is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas.
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Miami.
Dallas is 1-2 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Miami is 2-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
This season, Miami is 3-0 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Dallas pass defense is ranked 13th in the league, while the Miami passing attack is ranked only 17th. The Cowboys’ passing game is ranked just 26th, compared to the 20th-ranked pass defense of the Dolphins.
