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The NFL released the 2020 schedule and the Miami Dolphins potentially open the Tua Tagovailoa era with a road game against the new-look Patriots. The Dolphins are even with the Jets at the bottom of the AFC East odds, sitting at +700. Miami’s preseason win total is installed at 6 with -121 odds on the over and +100 odds on the under.
DraftKings Sportsbook posted all the Week 1 point spreads the evening of the schedule release, and they have since added nearly 100 additional games throughout the season. DK does big business in New Jersey and Colorado, so it is no surprise they have all 16 lines for the Giants, Jets, Eagles, and Broncos. However, they have multiple lines for other teams as well. For the Dolphins, we get four additional lines, including both Patriots matchups and a road game in Denver.
Point spreads
Week 1: @ Patriots (-6.5)
Week 6: @ Broncos (+5.5)
Week 10: vs. Jets (-2.5)
Week 12: @ Jets (-3.5)
Week 15: vs. Patriots (+2.5)
Most likely cover
The Dolphins aren’t expected to turn things around in one season, but they are expected to show some improvement after getting a haul of early round picks, including Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. With coronavirus limiting time for the Dolphins young players to work together, I’m not expecting them to be firing on all cylinders early, so looking later into the season is when they should be more capable of putting up a good fight. Week 15, at home, against a Patriots team that lacks offensive playmakers is where I would look for the Dolphins to cover.
Most likely fail to cover
On the other side of the Patriots vs. Dolphins, they matchup in Foxboro Week 1, where Bill Belichick’s game planning should come in handy against the young Dolphins. Belichick has always played rookie quarterbacks well and still has a strong pass defense to work with. The run game and strong defense should be able to get the job done so early in the season.
Line most likely to change
Playing the Jets at home and then getting a bye to just play the Jets again the next week is fairly odd, while both teams are young and will continue to be inconsistent. That leaves plenty of room for these lines to totally change if either team can show some consistency, either at losing or winning.
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