NFL Week 7 Matchup - Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins
by Mike Rose
Two teams hoping to get back into the playoff race in the AFC hook up in South Florida on Sunday afternoon, and football bettors will get a chance to sink their canines into all of the action when the Baltimore Ravens (2-3, 3-2 ATS) do battle with the Miami Dolphins (2-3, 3-2 ATS).
When these two teams met up last season, it was the only victory for the Fins, as they beat Baltimore 22-16 in overtime. It was another disappointing effort against Miami for the Ravens/Browns franchise that is just 2-8 SU and ATS against the Dolphins since 1990.
Though the Ravens started out the season with a bang, they hit rock bottom last Sunday afternoon, getting pounded by Peyton Manning and the Colts 31-3. The oddsmakers were hoping on another strong effort from the Baltimore defense and another lackluster one from the Colts at home, lining Indy as four point favorites. They got neither.
Indianapolis rolled up four offensive touchdowns, a lot of which was a direct result of the worst game of the young career of QB Joe Flacco. The former Delaware star went 28-of-38 for 241 yards, but turned the ball over three times. The running game never got on track against an Indy defense that typically struggles against the rush. Baltimore ran the ball just 19 times for 51 a paltry total of 51 yards much to the chagrin of HC John Harbaugh and his staff.
Miami might’ve failed to run their winning streak to three games on Sunday, but they picked up their third straight cover for football bettors in its Week 6 NFL betting match-up. It was a wild game at Reliant Stadium, but in the end, the Texans got the best of the Dolphins 29-28.
RBs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams were effective, toting the rock a combined 24 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns. The single-wing attack which tortured both New England and San Diego was successful with a new wrinkle this week, as QB Chad Pennington finally threw his first pass from the wide receiver position, hooking up with a wide open Patrick Cobbs for a long touchdown pass in the first half.
Pennington finished the day with 284 passing yards and two touchdowns, but in the end, the Dolphins defense couldn’t keep Houston QB Matt Schaub out of the end zone on a QB draw on 4th down with just 0:03 remaining.
Oddsmakers had a lot of confidence that the Fish were getting back in the win column this week, as they were tabbed as 4.5-point home favorites against the Ravens. The line has since dropped to 3. It isn’t the sexiest of match-ups for football bettors, as the Ravens are 7-22 ATS in their L/29 road games. The Dolphins aren’t much better at home, as they’re just 11-28-1 ATS in their L/40 at Dolphins Stadium.
The ‘total’ now sits at 36.5 after opening at 34.5. Betting trends agree with the line movement, as the Fins have played seven of their L/10 games ‘over’ the ‘total’, while eight of Baltimore’s L/10 on grass have resulted in ‘over’ games.
No matter which side of this AFC clash you plan to wager on, be sure to login to your BetUS account right now and get your NFL bets in before the opening kickoff!
