Jacksonville Jaguars at Miami Dolphins Line

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This Sunday the Miami Dolphins will host the Jacksonville Jaguars in a matchup between two teams simply playing for pride at this point in the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 EST at Sun Life Stadium and will be televised locally on CBS. Oddsmakers currently have Miami listed as a 7-point home favorite with the total posted at 37.5 points.

Why Jacksonville Will Cover:

The Jaguars come into this matchup off a 10-17 home loss to the Jets and have now lost two straight since that surprising win over Tennessee in week 12. Jacksonville is a miserable 2-11 on the season. Considering the Jags are just 5-7 ATS this year, it’s going to be extremely hard for anyone to back this team on the road. However, they clearly appear to be showing some value as a touchdown underdog against a Dolphins team that has lost five of six and are no longer a threat to make the playoffs.

I don’t think there is any doubt that Jacksonville has looked like a much better team since Chad Henne took over at quarterback for the injured Blaine Gabbert. With Henne under center this team at least believes they have a fighting chance to pull out a victory.

While the Jaguars haven’t exactly played all that well at any point this season, they seem to play their best on the road. Their biggest win this season came at Indianapolis and three of their five losses away from home came in overtime. Miami doesn’t exactly have a home field advantage either. The Dolphins are just 3-3 at home this season and are a poor 35-56 ATS in home games in the second half of the season since 1992.

Why Miami Will Cover:

The Dolphins might not be headed to the playoffs, but this is a young team that is looking for any sign of improvement to build on for next year. Miami is coming off a couple of solid performances against two of the top teams out of each conference. In Week 13 they held their own against the Patriots in a 16-23 home loss and just this past weekend played the 49ers to a 13-27 final. After getting beat up by a couple of elite opponents, this team should be hungry to get back on track with a win.

There really isn’t a better team to help you turn things around than the Jaguars. Jacksonville simply doesn’t have the talent to keep on a consistent basis week in and week out. While the Jaguars have played better of late, they are really hurting with injuries right now. Several players were hurt last week against the Jets and are all listed as questionable this week. The list includes wide out Cecil Shorts and tight end Mercedes Lewis. If Shorts isn’t able to play, that would be a huge loss for an already struggling Jacksonville offense. Shorts leads the team with 824 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Lately when the Dolphins play a game against the NFC it seems to bring the best out of them the following week. Miami is a perfect 6-0 ATS following a non-conference game over the last two seasons. The Dolphins are also a strong 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games following a S.U. loss.