It’s already Week 2 of the NFL 2024 season and a Divisional match-up of the Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins serves as the starter for 16 more action-packed games.
All set for the feast of football is our top tipster Andrew Cunneen with his best bets for the AFC East clash…
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins
Handicap: Dolphins -2.5
Total Points: Over 48.5
Anytime Touchdown: James Cook
Under 36.5 Rushing Yards: Josh Allen
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 14/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
WHEN: Friday, September 13 – 1:20am
WHERE: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida
TV: Sky Sports NFL
Handicap: Dolphins -2.5
The NFL is a league of change, so when it presents you with something that won’t change, I think it’s important we capitalise on it.
Backing against Miami early in the season is pointless because they’re a first-half juggernaut who fail to adapt in the latter stages of the season and only head coach Mike McDaniels’ aura stands in the way off him being seriously questioned.
Week 1 was a struggle for multiple reasons. One of those, of course, was the arrest of Tyreek Hill before the game, and all of the upheaval that came with it. But equally, this Miami offensive line cannot run block – and that’s going to cause them issues against elite defenses.
Buffalo are not that. Kyler Murray dissected them in week one, and that’s with him failing to see a wide-open Marvin Harrison multiple times.
Miami will have too many opportunities to attack their secondary, while the one-man band of Josh Allen won’t be able to keep up with this ferocity.
Total Points: Over 48.5
And ferocious, it will be. Allen’s ability to escape danger will extend plays, and to that end, they should be able to score at an even clip, but they just need to hit 23 points for us to land this Bet Builder, and I wouldn’t see them scoring fewer anyway.
Miami’s twenty points against Jacksonville proved a couple of things to me, with one of them being that the combination of Arik Armstead and Maason Smith will be formidable against opposition rushing attacks on early downs. But the other is that the Dolphins’ front five are much better pass blockers than run blockers.
And in order for Buffalo to stay close, Allen is going to throw the ball a lot – which could see a game with 80+ pass attempts combined, lengthening the game. More time equals more points.
Anytime Touchdown: James Cook
But the one caveat to all of this is that Josh Allen threw to ten different players last week. None of them went for more than 51 yards – so his trust in a go-to target just isn’t there anymore.
When it comes to the redzone, Khalil Shakir will get a healed-up Jalen Ramsey’s full attention, Miami will double Kincaid like Arizona did, and they’re far too concerned about Allen’s health to have him rushing into the end zone like he did on Sunday.
The option? Giving it to their best offensive weapon in James Cook, who rushed for 71 yards against the Cardinals.
Under 36.5 Rushing Yards: Josh Allen
And to double down on the Allen health, given we’ve now all seen again just how Buffalo really is a one-man show, there’s no way that Joe Brady is dialing up designed runs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they told Allen not to take contact when escaping.
I mean, it felt like he rushed for 150 last week if you watched the highlights and yet it was only for 39. I like this line in our favour as Buffalo move to being risk averse with their prized possession.
Bills @ Dolphins Bet Builder
Handicap: Dolphins -2.5
Total Points: Over 48.5
Anytime Touchdown: James Cook
Under 36.5 Rushing Yards: Josh Allen
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 14/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All odds and lines quoted are accurate at time of publication but are subject to change
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