Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers Odds
The Miami Dolphins will be looking for their first win of the season when they visit the 2-1 San Diego Chargers Sunday.
Odds makers have the Dolphins falling to 0-4. They are currently listed as a seven-point underdog with the total set at 45.
Miami nearly broke into the win column last week at Cleveland but came up one-point short in a 17-16 defeat. It led 16-10 late in the fourth but fell victim to a Colt McCoy touchdown pass with 43 seconds remaining.
The Dolphins racked up 138 yards on the ground in the loss with rookie running back Daniel Thomas getting 95 of those.
Quarterback Chad Henne completed 19 of 29 passes for 255 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Chargers bounced back from their loss at New England with a 20-17 victory over the Chiefs. They failed to cover the 14.5-point spread in that game and fell to 0-3 against the number on the season.
Philip Rivers had an atypical performance, completing 24 of 38 passes for 266 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns.
He was picked up by a solid running game that netted 117 yards against the Chiefs. Ryan Matthews led the way with 98 of those yards and two scores.
The Miami defense must step up this week in order to pull off the upset. The stop unit performed better in Week 3, only giving up 280 yards to the Browns, but it faces a tougher challenge Sunday.
The Chargers rank fourth in the NFL with 417.3 yards per game. The Dolphins rank 30th in the league with 415.7 yards allowed per contest.
Miami will catch a bit of a break Sunday with San Diego star tight end Antonio Gates expected to sit this one out with a foot injury.
The San Diego stop unit has been solid. It ranks eighth in the NFL in total defense with 314.3 yards allowed per game. It has, however, shown some susceptibility to run.
The Chargers, who rank 19th in the league with 111.3 rushing yards allowed per game, could be tested by a Miami rushing attack that has averaged 145.5 yards the last two weeks.
The Dolphins have won seven of the last eight meetings in this series, but the Chargers won the most recent meeting 23-13 at home on Sept. 27, 2009.
The time to back the Dolphins is when they’re on the road. Miami is 18-7-1 against the spread in its last 26 road contests.
The Chargers are yet to cover a spread this season but are 23-7 against the number in their last 30 home games as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points.
In terms of the total, the under has been the play. These two have played to the under in each of the last eight matchups.
Jimmy Boyd is off to a hot 6-2-1 start with his Sunday NFL plays through the first three weeks of the season. He is on a dominant 34-18-1 run (excludes preseason) on the pro gridiron dating back to last season. Join him again this Sunday for more expert premium picks!
