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Dolphins, Bills meet in Buffalo Sunday
By: Phil Burton - StatFox
Published: 11/4/2015  at  2:00:00 PM
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MIAMI DOLPHINS (3-4)
at BUFFALO BILLS (3-4)

Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Buffalo -3, Total: 44.5

AFC East rivals clash in Western New York on Sunday as the Dolphins take on the Bills.

Miami (3-4 SU and ATS) will be looking to regain the momentum it lost last Thursday in a 36-7 thrashing at the hands of New England, while Buffalo (3-4 SU and ATS) is hoping to pull to .500 fresh off its bye week. The rivalry between these teams spans decades, with the Dolphins leading the all-time series 58-44-1, though the Bills have won four of the past five meetings (SU and ATS), including a 41-14 drubbing in Week 3. Miami has several trends running in its favor. Visiting teams coming off road loss are 70-32 ATS in November over the past 10 seasons, while road teams with a losing record are 25-5 ATS where the line is +3 to -3 coming off a road loss over the past five years. On the other hand, Buffalo is 47-27 ATS after 2+ consecutive ATS losses since 1992, and 44-25 ATS after failing to cover the spread in 4 or 5 out of their previous 6 games over the same time period. Besides losing star DE Cameron Wake to a season-ending Achilles injury last Thursday, the Dolphins are fairly healthy at the midway point this season. There are just three other key player injuries this week, as CB Brice McCain (knee), OT Ja’Wuan James (toe) and WR DeVante Parker are all listed as questionable. The Bills have been riddled with injuries all season, and this week is no exception. The team hopes to see the return of No. 1 QB Tyrod Taylor (knee), but he'll likely be missing his top two wideouts in WR Percy Harvin (hip) and WR Sammy Watkins (ankle). RB Karlos Williams (concussion) and G John Miller (personal) are both questionable to play on Sunday.

Who will prevail in this always entertaining AFC East matchup? For the answer, connect to NFL Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2015 regular season and playoffs. This season, the four experts have a strong 58% ATS collective record (65-51-3) in NFL Best Bets. StatFox Dave is leading the way at 61% ATS (19-12-1) this season, while StatFox Gary is 58% ATS (15-11-1). In terms of NFL Totals, both Gary (58%, 11-8) and StatFox Scott (54%, 15-13) have been profitable this season.

Since starting the season 1-3 and parting ways with head coach Joe Philbin, Miami’s offense has been firing on all cylinders. The team has averaged 29.7 PPG and 402.3 YPG in the past three games, which even accounts for a clunker of a game at New England that saw the Dolphins score just seven points on 270 yards of offense. QB Ryan Tannehill has thrown a respectable 13 TD on the season (10th in NFL), but has also thrown for 9 INT (4th-worst in the league) and fumbled 5 times (3rd-worst in NFL) while getting sacked 21 times for a league-worst 196 yards lost. Three of Tannehill’s interceptions came against Buffalo in Week 3 in a game that saw him connect on 26-of-49 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. The Miami defense has similarly improved after the team’s bye, allowing an average of 76.3 rushing YPG in the past three games. But injured DE Cameron Wake will certainly be missed, as he has proven to be a centerpiece of the Dolphins' pass rush, sacking opposing quarterbacks seven times, which trails only J.J. Watt and Chandler Jones for the entire league. This team is still susceptible to the passing game, allowing 255 YPG (19th in league), and 15 touchdowns (28th in league).

The plague of injuries suffered by Buffalo has resulted in a spotty offensive record through seven games. The team is good for 25.1 PPG (9th in NFL), but generates only 341 YPG (24th in league), while turning over the ball 11 times (17th in NFL), four of which came in the Bills’ last game against the Jaguars in London, a 34-31 defeat. QB Tyrod Taylor feasted on Miami in the teams’ last matchup, completing 21-of-29 passes for 277 yards and 3 TD, making it imperative for him to be healthy enough to play the entire game. On the ground, rookie RB Karlos Williams had the best game of his short career against the Dolphins, racking up 110 yards and a score, but his likely absence means that Buffalo will lean on star RB LeSean McCoy even more. McCoy had only 11 carries for 16 yards versus Miami, but has totaled 198 yards (158 rushing, 40 receiving) in two games since. The Bills’ defense has been much too generous at home this season, allowing opponents 28.0 PPG and 367 YPG. The squad has been relatively stout against the run, allowing 92.0 YPG (6th in league) and 4 TD (10th in NFL), but has been equally as porous against the pass as their opponents, giving up an identical 255 YPG (19th in league) and 15 TD (28th in league). Penalties have been an issue for the Bills on both sides of the ball this year, especially at home, where they average 12 flags for 120 yards.


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