Cardinals vs. Dolphins Point Spread: NFL Week 8 Odds, Prediction

Edgar Chaput | Updated Oct 24, 2024

Syndication: Arizona Republic

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A game for which questions abound looms in Week 8 when the Arizona Cardinals visit the ailing Miami Dolphins.

Arizona
6-7
AT
October 27, 2024, 1:00 PM ET
Hard Rock Stadium
Miami
6-7
Pointspread +3.5 -115
Moneyline +140
Over / Under o +48
Matchup Odds
Pointspread -3.5 -105
Moneyline -165
Over / Under u +48
Matchup Odds

There is an unbelievable amount of stakes in this upcoming game. Yes, both teams are under .500, but the potential to turn things around might be around the corner. In Week 7, the Cardinals survived a gritty Monday Night Football win over the Los Angeles Chargers, 17-15. The Miami Dolphins proverbially (but kind of literally) fumbled their way to a 16-10 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts. The real question is: will QB Tua Tagovailoa play?

Our NFL odds have pegged the Dolphins as -3 favourites. This is in the hopes that Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa plays, although that is far from official as of Wednesday morning.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

As intra-conference foes, there have only been four meetings since the 2008 campaign. For what it’s worth, that quartet of contests has their records at an even 2-2, with the Dolphins taking the most recent match in 2020. Should Tua be healthy, he and Kyler Murray would draw swords for the second time in their careers.

Speaking of the beleaguered Miami quarterback, let it no longer be argued that he’s not that special. After all, how has the Dolphins’ attack performed since he’s been out of commission? They’ve scored 3, 12, 15, and 10 points to go along with a 1-3 tally during that span. The team they defeated were the New England Patriots, who look terrible this season. Beyond the 1-5 record against the spread, consider that the over is also 1-5 this season. As of this writing, we know that Tua will at least practice this week.

Arizona’s season has been wild thus far. They have two very narrow victories (Weeks 5 and 7), a defeat that looks honourable on the scoreboard but for which they crumbled after leading by 17 (Week 1) and blowout losses and a blowout win (Week 2). There is talent on this roster, but they’re fragile. If things don’t roll their way, they really don’t roll their way. All this has led to a 3-4 ATS record and a 3-3-1 for the over.

Arizona Cardinals

A loss on Monday at home against the Chargers might have been the death knell for the Cardinals. They didn’t even cough up an offensive TD yet were on the brink of a 2-5 record.

But a great final drive orchestrated by Murray concluded with Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired for a 17-15 victory. It was a magical drive given that, overall, Murray was only 14-for-26, 145 yards, one pass TD and a pick. To his credit, he ran for a brilliant 44-yard score in the fourth quarter. RB James Conner had one of his better outings, bulldozing to 101 yards on 19 touches and catching two passes for 51 yards.

But on this night, Arizona benefitted from a vintage Chargers game in which Justin Herbert threw for 349 yards yet went 0-1 in the red zone, and the team kicked a quintet of field goals. Budda Baker (eight tackles), Max Melton (nine tackles), and Kyzir White (10 tackles) were instrumental.

A lot rides on who plays at QB for the Dolphins, but if it’s anyone other than Tua, Arizona’s defence should be able to handle it.

Miami Dolphins

This is the current state of the Miami Dolphins. They played a Colts team quarterback by an extremely wonky Anthony Richardson, yet still lost 16-10.

The Tyler Huntley experiment at quarterback has not worked for Miami. Be that as it may, he couldn’t finish the game anyhow because of an injury sustained in the third quarter. Enter journeyman Tim Boyle. He finished with a QBR of 70.8, which is far from bad, although fumbles muted chances of a possible win. FB Alec Ingold dropped the ball at the Indy 15 in the third quarter, which was after a Raheem Mostert fumble earlier in the same period. Kicker Jason Sanders also missed a 54-yard attempt in the fourth.

WRs Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are nowhere to be found in this Tua-less attack. These Dolphins are struggling mightily to navigate the storm.

Who Will Win Cardinals vs. Dolphins?

NFL Predictions
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  • ARI
  • +3.5 -3.5
  • MIA
Matchup NFL Odds