Dolphins vs. Chargers Total Pick
Will the Miami Dolphins show plenty of rust in their season opener when they go on the road to face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at 4:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, San Diego is the favorite at home in this game, as the Chargers are getting odds of -3.5 points against the Dolphins. The over/under total for the game is listed at 45.5 points. The Dolphins have won three of the last four between these two and they have hit the under in nine of their last 10 meetings. Sunday’s game takes place from the StubHub Center in Carson, California and will air live on CBS.
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Miami was supposed to open the season at home last week against Tampa Bay, but Hurricane Irma forced the Dolphins to use their bye week to start the year. Miami has had a very eventful start to 2017 as the team lost Ryan Tannehill to an injury for the year. That forced the Dolphins to call Jay Cutler out of retirement to play quarterback. Jay Ajayi will likely be the focal point of the Miami offense this season, as he rushed for 1,272 yards and eight touchdowns in 2016. Defensively, Miami was poor last season. The Dolphins gave up 382.6 yards and 23.8 points per game in 2016, including 140.4 rushing yards per game. The team needs more from Ndamukong Suh, who had just five sacks in 2016.
San Diego started the season on Monday night, suffering a 24-21 loss at Denver. The Chargers went over the 41.5-point total in the loss. San Diego fell behind 24-7 before making a late surge. The Chargers had a chance to tie at the end, but a field goal attempt was blocked. San Diego finished with just 249 total yards while holding the Broncos finished with 321 yards. Melvin Gordon was held to just 54 yards rushing on 18 carries while Philip Rivers threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 22 of 33 passing.
I can see some fireworks on Sunday in this one. The Chargers have an offense capable of putting up big numbers. At home, San Diego should be able to throw and run all over this Miami defense. With the addition of Cutler, the Miami offense is likely going to take some shots downfield, which can be done against this San Diego secondary. Look for plenty of big plays on Sunday as these two go over the total.
NFL WEEK 2 PREDICTION: DOLPHINS/CHARGERS OVER 45.5