Bills vs Dolphins- NFL Free Pick, NFL Prediction 9/11/24
The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are looking to carry momentum from their Week 1 victories into Hard Rock Stadium against each other in the Week 2 Thursday Night Football game. Both teams are co-favorites to win the AFC East at FanDuel (+180). This will give the winner of this TNF game a significant improvement to the NFL future odds. In their last meeting, The Bills defeated the Dolphins by a score of 21-14 in the Week 18 game of the 2023-2024 season.
Following the detaining of Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill on his way to Sunday's game, he contributes to the win over Jacksonville. Hill had 130 receiving yards on seven receptions with one of those receptions resulting in an 80-yard touchdown. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 338 yards, completing 23 of 37 pass attempts. He is currently in the lead for total passing yards averaging 9.1 yards per completion early on in the season.
Despite an early game lost fumble, Bills QB Josh Allen completed 18-23 in a come-from-behind win against the Arizona Cardinals. Allen threw for 232 yards and scored four touchdowns; two passing and two rushing. Bills coach Sean McDermott gave an injury report update on WGR550 Wednesday morning and claimed that Allen will play despite aggravation in his left hand. McDermott also said defensive back Taron Johnson and defensive end Dawuane Smoot are ruled out and defensive end Javon Solomon is listed as doubtful. With Johnson out, Cam Lewis (who allowed five catches against Arizona) is likely his replacement.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated that running back Raheem Mostert will be ruled out with a chest injury. De’Von Achane is dealing with a nagging ankle injury leaving him to make a gametime decision. This weakened Dolphins backfield paired with a seemingly more weakened Bills defense could lead to a shootout between two quarterbacks with stellar receiving cores coming off good performances.
The odds for this game according to FanDuel show an even split as far as betting percentages go with Miami & Buffalo each taking an even 50% of bets placed. The Bills have won 11 of the last 12 games against Miami with Tagovailoa and Hill historically struggling to sync in the regular season against Buffalo. Both teams' offenses are ranked within the top five to start the season with Buffalo ranked fourth and Miami taking the number one spot. Both teams are also within the top 10 for defense to start the season which bears watching considering the injuries to the Bills defense.
Free Pick: Bills-Dolphins Over 48.5
The Bills and Dolphins combined for 44 points in Week 1. Regardless of the strong offensive performances for both teams, it is worth taking note of the injuries previously mentioned to the Bills defense, these are two evenly-matched teams riding early-season momentum. Oddsmakers are predicting a shootout with such a high total but with the Dolphins lacking depth in the backfield for this game, they are more than likely to rely heavily on their receiving core.
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