Dolphins vs. Chargers Prediction
Will the Los Angeles Chargers be able to have an impressive debut in their new home when they welcome the Miami Dolphins to town today at 4:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Los Angeles 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. Miami has won and covered the spread in three of its last four meetings with the Chargers. Today’s game takes place from the StubHub Center in Carson, California and will air live on CBS.
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Los Angeles started the season on Monday night, suffering a 24-21 loss at Denver. The Chargers pushed the 3-point spread with a late rally. L.A. fell behind 24-7 before finally finding some offense. The Chargers had a chance to tie at the end, but a field goal attempt was blocked. Los Angeles had just 249 total yards while holding the Broncos to 321 total yards. Melvin Gordon had only 54 yards rushing on 18 carries while Philip Rivers threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 22 of 33 passing.
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 will get its first look at Jay Cutler as the starting quarterback today. He is replacing the injured Ryan Tannehill. Cutler played in just five games a year ago for the Bears, throwing for 1,059 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. 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 year. The Dolphins gave up 382.6 yards and 23.8 points per game in 2016, including 140.4 rushing yards per game.
Miami was expecting to start its season at home, which may have helped Cutler settle in to his new team. Now Miami’s starters have been off for about three weeks and there should be some rust involved. While the Chargers aren’t exactly in their home by playing in Carson, it still should be a crowd that is behind them. The Chargers showed some promise at times Monday night and I think that can carry over today against a Miami team that will be searching for its identity.
NFL WEEK 2 PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES CHARGERS -3.5