The Buffalo Bills are home favorites on the betting lines as the Miami Dolphins head to town to end the 2018 regular season.
Based solely on the standings it would seem to be a misprint that the 5-10 Buffalo Bills are 3.5-point favorites this Sunday against the 7-8 Miami Dolphins.
Sometimes records can be deceiving.
The Dolphins enter the game with a 2-4 record in their last six games. The first win came against the Bills when Josh Allen just missed Charles Clay to win the game, while the second came on the miracle play at the end against the New England Patriots.
The Dolphins had been lucky, but last week’s 17-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars proved the team is not playoff-worthy in 2018.
The Bills haven’t been dominating teams, but hold the advantage on Sunday due to being home and taking on a Dolphins team that may enter demoralized after last week’s debacle.
The Bills also nearly beat the Dolphins the first time around, and that was when Miami was fighting for a playoff spot. Things are different this time around.
Being led by a rookie quarterback will help the Bills in this one. Josh Allen has no sense of a season being lost, the same way Ryan Tannehill does. The same goes for all the young players on the Bills. The young stars of the team are still learning the ways of the NFL and just want to win.
The coaching staff isn’t in danger of being fired and the entire season was treated as one big learning experience anyway. The Bills can prepare for this like any other game and once it’s over they can move on to 2019 without any worries of major change.
The same cannot be said for the Dolphins, where major change could come as soon as Monday.
I am more than confident to take the Bills in this one. Are you?