New England Patriots Favored Over Division Rival Miami Dolphins

NFL News - December 1st, 2009 - Written by John

Amid all of the coverage surrounding the New Orleans Saints win on Monday Night Football, one glaring issue was identified. The New England Patriots are not the elite team they used to be earlier this decade, and are far removed from their status of being favorites to reach the Super Bowl.

But lost in the bedlam is that they are still the cream of the AFC East and look to cement that status when they travel to play the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

The New England Patriots are favored by 5, according to DSI Sportsbook, with a 46 1/2 over/under.

New England is 3-1 in the division, and has already handled Miami 27-17 in Week Nine. In that game, Tom Brady threw for 332 yards, and Randy Moss had 147 yards receiving. But the Patriots have since lost two of their last three games, both on primetime television, to lose a shade of their mystique.

At 7-4, they are in real danger of losing a first-round bye in the playoffs, which was almost a given after starting 6-2. Laurence Maroney has been solid after inheriting the bulk of the carries in the backfield. He has scored a touchdown in each of the last six games, including four in the last two.

Moss is second in the league with 992 yards.

But all of that pales in comparison to a defense in shambles, which allowed five passing touchdowns for the first time in the Bill Belichick era last week. Thus, the unit plummeted to 12th in the league, and is allowing just over 109 rushing yards per game.

That might be the key against a Miami Dolphins team that runs the ball as good as anyone. Despite losing 31-14 to the Buffalo Bills a week ago, Ricky Williams topped the 100-yard mark for the third game in a row, and scored his ninth touchdown. He has 792 yards, and is projected to hit 1,000 within the next two weeks. But at 5-6, it is still desperation mode for a team trying to make back-to-back postseason appearances.

That may be a tall task considering the season closes out with the Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, and Pittsburgh Steelers. But beating the Patriots for just the fourth time in the last 10 meetings will be priority no. 1.

Miami has failed to cover the spread in 37 of their last 52 home games, while New England is 37-18-2 ATS in it's last 57 road games according to the latest NFL Betting Trends.