NFL Betting Odds - Miami Dolphins Season Recap

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Miami Dolphins Betting

The Miami Dolphins were much better than anyone expected after watching them play in September. Miami was the worst team in the modern history of the league through four games, getting outscored 163-26, but the Dolphins fought hard after their bye week and went 5-7 to close out the year. Ryan Fitzpatrick summoned some Fitzmagic to lead the Dolphins to surprising wins against two playoff teams, and the Week 17 victory against New England caused the Patriots to miss out on a first-round bye.

Season Recap

After yielding to Josh Rosen for a few games following Miami’s disastrous start, Fitzpatrick showed why he is still good enough to be a starting quarterback in this league with some gritty performances. He completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,529 yards with 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, leading Miami to three outright wins in games in which this team was a double-digit underdog per the NFL betting odds. Not only that, Fitzpatrick ended the season as the Dolphins’ leading rusher in one of the most curious nuggets of the 2019 season. The 37-year-old quarterback had to do it all for Miami, running for 243 yards and four touchdowns at 4.5 YPC.

Miami had one of the worst run games in recent memory. The Dolphins were dead last in the league with just 72.2 yards rushing per game, and they averaged a lowly 3.3 YPC. The next two leading rushers after Fitzpatrick were players that left less than halfway through the season, and Patrick Laird and Kalen Ballage were both dreadful at moving the chains. Laird and Ballage had the most carries on the season for the Dolphins, but Laird could only must 2.7 YPC while Ballage ran for a dreadful 1.8 YPC.

Devante Parker came on strong over the second half of the season, helping Miami reclaim some respectability after everyone wrote off the Dolphins. He caught 72 passes for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 16.7 YPC. Parker had twice as many receiving yards as the next closest receiver, tight end Mike Gesicki, and he had three times as many catches of 20 yards or more.

Miami was dreadful on defense this season. The Dolphins had the worst scoring defense in the league, conceding 30.9 PPG, and the total defense was the third worst in the NFL. This unit surrendered almost 400 YPG, and the pass defense was dreadful after Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded.

Christian Wilkins failed to do much in his rookie season with just two sacks and four tackles for loss, but no one else on the Dolphins had more than 3.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. This front four had no push, so it’s no surprise that Miami posted the worst sack rate in the league.

Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard was lost for the season due to a knee injury in late October, and his status for next year is in doubt due to off-field issues. Howard was arrested on domestic battery charges in late December for allegedly striking his fiancée over a purse, so the Dolphins may decide to part ways with the cornerback they just signed to a massive long-term deal.

The Dolphins are rebuilding from the floor up and were never expected to win much this season after trading Laremy Tunsil, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Kenny Stills, and Kenyan Drake. However, Brian Flores should be commended for continually having this team ready to play.

2020 Season Preview

Miami’s reported strategy of tanking for Tua might not pay off. Tua Tagovailoa suffered a devastating injury late in the season, and he is unlikely to play in 2020. Tagovailoa is reportedly leaning to returning to college rather than declare early for the NFL Draft due to concerns about his draft stock, so everyone is curious to see what the Dolphins do with their three first round picks.

The Dolphins have plenty of holes to fill, but they have a bevy of picks available these next two seasons due to the trades they made with Houston, Pittsburgh, and Arizona. Miami can start it’s rebuild in earnest now, but the key is finding a quarterback. If Miami doesn’t select a quarterback in this draft, the Dolphins would certainly be eyeing Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft.

2019 Miami Dolphins Betting Schedule

Past Miami Dolphins Seasons

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