Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders Betting Preview

One of the best matchups of the long Christmas NFL weekend is the Miami Dolphins traveling to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders on Saturday night. Miami is currently in a playoff spot and desperate to hold onto it. 

The Raiders are one of two teams with a chance to pass the Dolphins, although, in the case of Las Vegas, it is an outside chance at best.

The Line: Dolphins (-2.5) at Raiders

Remove a slow 0-2 start for Miami, and you have the makings of a really great season. The Dolphins are playing their best football at the end of the year, which is exactly when you want to be. 

Even in their lone loss over the last month - a 33-27 defeat at the hands of Kansas City - they played well. This team deserves to be the favorite on the road.

Las Vegas is the bizarro Dolphins, playing its absolute worst football over the last month of the season. There was the demolition in Atlanta, the miracle to avoid losing to the Jets, domination by the Colts, and last week’s overtime loss to the Chargers. 

If any team deserves to be a December dog at home, it’s the Raiders.

Miami Dolphins

When head coach Brian Flores made the switch at quarterback from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tua Tagovailoa, many football pundits thought the Dolphins were giving up on 2020 and looking to develop their young quarterback for the future. The switch did come after a win, which was unusual timing.

But Flores clearly knew what he was doing. As a starter, Tagovailoa is 5-2, has 12 total touchdowns and just two interceptions. And he has the Dolphins in position to make their first postseason appearance in four years.

The Dunkel Index ranks Miami as the 12th-best team in the NFL.

Las Vegas Raiders

Another year, another great start, another flirtation with a postseason spot, and another late-season collapse for the Raiders. It’s becoming Jon Gruden’s modus operandi. 

In 2018, his first year back in coaching, the Raiders were just bad at 4-12. But in 2019, the Raiders started 6-4 before losing five of their last six games to miss the playoffs. Now in 2020, after a 6-3 start, they’ve lost four of the last five games.

There is talent on offense. Darren Waller has established himself as a legitimate superstar tight end, and Josh Jacobs has become an even better running back in his second season. But even after 14 defensive draft picks in Gruden’s three seasons, the defense is still one of the worst in the NFL.

The Dunkel Index ranks Las Vegas as the 15th-best team in the NFL.

Dunkel is Big on the Dolphins

The betting line is only 2.5 points for the Dolphins, but the Dunkel Index has the Dolphins winning by 10 and easily blowing out the over.

Derek Carr is practicing after last week’s injury, but it won’t matter. This Dolphins team is one of the best-coached teams in the NFL and does not hurt itself with mistakes. The Raiders are the opposite and will lose another December game under Gruden.

For more Dunkel Index picks, check out our NFL picks page.