The Indianapolis Colts (6-8) travel to play the Miami Dolphins (5-9) looking to end their three-game losing streak. The game will begin Sunday, Dec 27 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
Miami dropped one to the Chargers 30-14 last week. Reshad Jones led the way for the Miami defense in the loss, totaling seven tackles and one interception. Indianapolis came up short as well, getting beat by the Texans 16-10. Vontae Davis led the Indianapolis defense, registering four tackles and one interception.
Oddsmakers have deemed the Miami and Indianapolis game as an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable.
The Dolphins enter the game with records of 5-9 Straight Up (SU) and 4-10 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. The Dolphins are 1-4 SU over their last five matchups, but they’re worse ATS with a 0-5 record. The Dolphins have a strong running game with an average of 4.6 yards per carry, good enough for fifth in the league. As for the Miami defense, there are important areas to keep an eye on. One of the keys to the game will be if the Dolphins can take advantage of Indianapolis’s knack for throwing picks. They rank 29th in the league in interceptions thrown with 1.3 per game. Keep an eye on Miami to increase focus during the second quarter of home games, where it averages 9.8 points.
Moving to the road team, the Colts have 6-8 SU and ATS records this season. In the previous five games, Indianapolis has a record of 2-3 for both SU and ATS. Taking away the passing game shouldn’t be a difficult task for Indianapolis. When playing at home, the Dolphins average the league’s worst completion percentage at 56.4%. The Dolphins can’t give the ball away to the turnover-minded Colts. The Indianapolis defense generates 2.1 turnovers per away game, fourth in the league. The Colts know how to handle late-game pressure on the road, averaging 9.1 points in the final quarter of road games. Given Miami’s tendencies, this game could come down to penalties. The Dolphins have been one of the most penalized teams in the NFL this year, with 67 penalty yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia, ATS Winner – Mia
Notes
Miami is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Miami’s last 6 games.
Miami is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
Miami is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Miami is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Miami’s last 5 games when playing Indianapolis.
Miami is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Indianapolis.
Miami is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games when playing at home against Indianapolis.
Miami is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Indianapolis.
Miami is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Indianapolis.
Indianapolis is 2-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Miami is 3-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
Remarkably, Miami is winless (0-5) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 4-2 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Indianapolis has provoked an average of 8.4 penalties on opponents this season. Miami is only 3-6 SU when penalized eight or more times in a game.
The Miami ground attack is ranked 22nd in the league, compared to the 25th-ranked rush defense of Indianapolis.
