The Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers enter Week 1 as one of the NFL’s closest matchups. The Dolphins are hoping to take the next step in the right direction, as the Chargers hope that their cursed 27-point blown lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars last postseason is long gone.
With two evenly matched rosters from top to bottom, which side of the spread should you follow ahead of Sunday’s game?
Dolphins vs. Chargers, Week 1: Pick against the spread
The Dolphins have a rapidly-paced offense. Tua Tagovailoa can lob passes up to his rockets Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle with ease on the outside, to go along with a backfield combination of Raheem Mostert, rookie DeVon Achane and Jeff Wilson Jr. There isn’t much that can slow the Dolphins down on a weekly basis, other than the various ways that they proved to beat themselves in 2022. On paper, this team reads “title contender,” but will they corroborate that on the field better in the upcoming season? Defensively, it’ll be interesting to see the positive impact that new DC Vic Fangio has on this team’s success. Week 1 will begin setting the stage for what exactly is Miami’s destiny. With a fully refreshed offense and new-look defense, the Dolphins can hang close against any team in football.
The Chargers had a horrific defense in 2022, but the one game that it came together and looked elite was against the Dolphins last December. Los Angeles held Tagovailoa to a 10-of-28 for 145 yards and one TD passing line and defeated the Dolphins 23-17. Given that both of these teams have gone through their share of alterations over the offseason, we can take last year with a grain of salt. Justin Herbert is a prime candidate for a huge bounce-back campaign, the team retained Austin Ekeler, and the receiving unit has a dangerous blend of size, speed and route-running in Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and rookie sensation Quentin Johnston.
It should be a close game with plenty of scoring opportunities on both sides. With the current O/U set at 51 (the highest projected total of Week 1), let’s roll with the underdog offense to match the pace of their opponent’s game plan.
The Pick: Dolphins +3
