The San Diego Chargers (3-10) battle the Miami Dolphins (5-8) this week in a game that will feature the NFL’s third-leading passer, Philip Rivers (3,976 yards, 23 TDs). Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec 20 and will air on CBS.
In last week’s game, San Diego suffered a loss at the hands of the Chiefs 10-3. Jason Verrett led the defensive effort for San Diego in the loss, recording eight tackles and one interception. Antonio Gates chipped in with 76 yards on six catches. Miami also came up short, losing to the Giants 31-24. Lamar Miller had a huge game running the ball for the Dolphins, rushing 12 times for 89 yards and two TDs.
The odds between the Chargers and the Dolphins are even this week, while the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 44 points.
Sitting at 3-10 Straight Up (SU) and 5-8 Against The Spread (ATS), the Chargers will look to improve heading into Week 15. In their five most recent matchups, the Chargers went 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS. A focal point of San Diego’s offense is its passing game, which ranks fourth in the league with 293.2 passing yards per game. The Chargers are one of the best in the league at scoring in the fourth quarter of home games, averaging 8.9 points. San Diego runs a fast-paced offense, ranking fourth in the NFL with an average of 68.1 offensive snaps per game.
Shifting to the opposition, the Dolphins head into Week 15 with records of 4-9 ATS and 5-8 SU. Over their last five games, the Dolphins have a SU record of 2-3 and a 1-4 record ATS. Running the ball has resulted in favorable outcomes for the Dolphins, who average the third-best yards per carry in the league with 4.8. Moving on to the Miami defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Chargers. Miami could take advantage of its competitor’s subpar rushing attack, which sports the worst yards per carry average in the league (3.4). Miami has put in some strong special teams performances this season. The team has averaged 104.4 return yards per game, ranking second in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia, ATS Winner – Mia, O/U – Over
Notes
San Diego is 7-17 ATS in its last 24 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Diego’s last 5 games.
San Diego is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games.
San Diego is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home.
San Diego is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Diego’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Diego’s last 5 games when playing Miami.
San Diego is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing Miami.
San Diego is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Miami.
San Diego is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Miami.
Miami is 3-0 SU this season, when leading at the half. San Diego is 1-3 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Remarkably, Miami is winless (0-5) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 4-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
When it comes to passing this season, San Diego is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its fourth-ranked passing attack will face the 26th-ranked pass defense of Miami, while its 14th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 22nd-ranked passing game of the Dolphins.
