Panthers vs Dolphins Preview: Miami Favored by 2 TDs

The Carolina Panthers visit the Miami Dolphins on Sunday looking for their first win of the season. The Panthers are the last team in the league without a win and they haven’t been close in most games. Carolina is 0-4-1 against the NFL spreads, having a Week 2 push against New Orleans as 3-point underdogs. The NFL odds this week aren’t giving the Panthers much of a chance to break into the win column against Miami. The Panthers vs Dolphins preview has Miami favored by 14 points (-105) and the total on the game is at 48.5 points.

Panthers Struggling Defensively

The Carolina Panthers aren’t performing very well on offense, but the defense is nothing to write home about, either. The Panthers are averaging 18.2 points against NFL teams allowing 20.6 points, so they’re a bit below average. Carolina is averaging 96 rushing yards and 198.4 passing yards per game. The Panthers’ 294.4 total yards per game is about 20 fewer yards than their foes allow on average. Carolina is a bit worse than average. But not doing too bad considering it’s starting a rookie quarterback.

It’s the Carolina defense that needs to turn things around in a hurry. The Panthers are allowing 28.8 points per game to teams that score 23 points. The run defense has been particularly bad, allowing 140.8 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry. Teams have so much success running against the Panthers, they don’t need to throw as much. Teams that average 34 passing attempts per game are throwing 27.6 times per game against the Panthers.

Carolina is 2-3 in totals on the year. The 48.5 total in this game is the highest the Panthers have played since Week 4 of the 2021 season. This season, the Panthers’ highest total was 46 points against Minnesota.

Dolphins Still Blowing Past Opposition

The Panthers vs Dolphins preview shows Miami is rolling offensively, averaging more than 500 total yards of offense and scoring 36.8 points per game. Miami’s average score is inflated a bit by the 70-20 win over Denver. The Dolphins are still good without that game in the books, but the stats aren’t nearly as impressive.

Tua Tagovailoa is having a good season, but he’s not quite NFL MVP 2023 caliber just yet. He’s thrown for 1,614 yards and 11 touchdowns while being intercepted five times. He has fumbled five times already, but the Dolphins have lost just one of them.

Miami’s run game has been brilliant, but leading rusher De’Von Achane is going to miss time after a knee injury suffered last week against the Giants. Raheem Mostert has played well and leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns. He should get a few more carries now.

Miami’s defense hasn’t been that good, allowing 27 points per game to teams averaging 21.4 points. The Dolphins haven’t had a lot of success stopping the passing game and the run defense is a bit below average.

What to Expect

The Panthers vs Dolphins preview notes Carolina is capable of moving the ball on the ground. Carolina is averaging 4.0 yards per carry against teams allowing 3.5 yards per rush. It makes sense for the Panthers to try and run the ball and shorten the game. The less the Miami offense is on the field, the better for the Panthers.

Miami isn’t about to do anything differently for this game. The Dolphins are one of the best offenses in the NFL and that’s not the type of thing you change up based on the opposition. Carolina will know it’s going to see a fair number of passing attempts. It’s a matter of if the Panthers can slow down the Miami passing attack.

Who to Bet On?

The Dolphins could very well be the right side in this one. But it’s never easy to lay so many points in any football game, let alone an NFL matchup.

Instead, there are a few trends that back the under 48.5 points in this game and it’s hard to disagree with them. Since the start of the 2020 season, teams off a 14-point or more victory are 15-28-1 in totals when playing a team off a 14-point or more loss. With the Dolphins defeating the Giants 31-16 and the Panthers losing 42-24 to Detroit, the under 48.5 is the play in this game.

For today’s NFL scores, current NFL odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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