Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders Preview
The Raiders are hanging on a theory when it comes to their playoff prospects. Jon Gruden’s side blew a pretty good shot at the offseason, with a couple of unexpected losses. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are not safe yet, but are very close to securing themselves a postseason spot. Still, they need to win on Saturday, otherwise, things could become messy for Brian Flores’ side.
- When: Saturday, December 26, 8:15 PM ET
- Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
- How to Watch: NFL
Dolphins at Raiders Odds
| Team | Spread | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | -2.5 | 47.5 |
| Raiders | +2.5 | 47.5 |
Tua Growing Up
The fifth pick from this year’s draft opened the match against the Patriots pretty slow, but as time went by showed his resilience. It is a sign of his maturity, as he managed to adapt and switch his attitude during the contest.
He couldn’t throw a single touchdown pass, yielding just 145 yards throughout the entire match. However, once seeing that he can’t breach the Pats’ secondary, he calmed down and started using his rushers, Salvon Ahmed and Matt Breida.
These two guys combined for 208 yards, and one touchdown, and Tagovailoa added two scores on the ground in his three carries. All this suggests that the young fella knows what to do when things get rough, After all, he has been facing adversities throughout his entire career.
We need to give some credit for Miami’s defense, as Flores’ guys had some pretty good performances, in the past few matches. In the latest three wins, the opponents couldn’t score more than 12 points.
Raiders’ Meltdown
We don’t know how to explain the Raiders’ collapse. We really don’t. Five weeks ago, these guys were 6-3. Today, they are 7-7 losing games against teams who are long gone from the playoff hunt, such as Atlanta Falcons and the most recent, LA Chargers.
Las Vegas lost against the Chargers in the overtime, allowing Justin Herbert to call the game with a one-yard run with 1:29 to go and narrow their playoff chances. Derek Carr’s absence wasn’t felt that much, with Marcus Mariotta having a solid appearance.
The former Heisman Trophy winner threw 226 yards, for one TD and one interception, adding 88 yards on the ground along with one score. Darren Waller again had an exquisite performance with 150 receiving yards in nine catches and one touchdown.
Gruden’s defense has been looking like a mess lately, not being able to contribute with anything on the field. It is the main reason for the Raiders’ struggles, allowing at least 28 points in each of the past five events.
Dolphins at Raiders Head to Head
These two franchises met the last time in 2018, with the Dolphins beating the Raiders at the Hard Rock Stadium, 28-20
Dolphins at Raiders Pick
The guests from Miami are looking much better, and their win here shouldn’t be endangered here. That is the way we see it. In the past few games, the Raiders showed multiple weaknesses, and it seems that they need to gain more experience and confidence before becoming a playoff team. On the other side, it is obvious that the Dolphins already reached that level.
