To continue their course to the postseason or say goodbye to the campaign. That’s what’s at stake this Sunday in Dolphins vs Patriots, one of the NFL’s Week 17 all-star clashes.
Miami has four straight losses after losing 26-20 to the Packers last weekend, while New England has two straight losses after losing 22-18 to the Bengals.
Here, at JefeBet we bring you the best preview of the crucial match between the Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots NFL Week 17 Game on January 1, 2023
- Where: Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, Massachusetts.
- When: Sunday, January 1, 2023 1:00 PM E.T.
Odds provided by BetMGM.
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Betting on the Miami Dolphins
Things are not looking good for the Dolphins after they lost a significant lead in the AFC Wild Card with their four straight losses.
Miami will have to win on the road and without Tua Tagovailoa, who is once again in concussion protocol, in order to avoid losing the position to its rival or any of the other three teams that are competing for it.
Without the QB, the Dolphins are in serious trouble, since despite being one of the best offenses in the circuit, they depend too much on their passing attack and in their current string of defeats they only scored more than 20 points on one occasion. This is something that obviously makes it difficult for a defense that is sixth in points allowed with 370 and fifth in passing TDs conceded with 25.
Betting on the New England Patriots
The Patriots have it in their hands to return to the postseason standings, and to do so they need their defense to regain the consistency of the first 10 games.
Three times in the last five games, New England has given up 24 points; additionally, the opposition has thrown for more than 300 yards, something that had happened only in the first 10 games of the season. The Patriots are seventh in fewest points allowed with 291, fifth in yards allowed per play with 5.0, and they have a decent chance of having a successful night if Tagovailoa doesn’t spoil it for them.
Still, the main problem of this team lies in its passes. They have slowly been improving, but remain 12th in fewest total passing yards with 3,129 and have the third fewest TDs per pass with 14. That translates to them being the least effective offense in the opposing red zone by scoring just 15 times in 30 visits for the lowest percentage in the league at 38.5%.
JefeBet Prediction
The absence of Tua Tagovailoa was immediately reflected in the Las Vegas bookmakers by placing the Patriots as favorites for this game.
Led by their defense, New England will dominate the game against a Miami offense that has not been clicking and will be without their starting QB. The home offense is not the most explosive, but guided by the defense things should go better.
Prediction: Patriots to win (MIA 17 – NE 24).