Dolphins vs. Bengals Point Spread: NFL Week 5 Odds, Prediction
The Bengals opened as 5.5-point favourites at Sports Interaction.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Miami Dolphins historically don’t play well in cold weather, which probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. They catch a break here in visiting Cincinnati in early October instead of, say, December. It’s forecast to be unusually warm there on Sunday, too, so the Dolphins might have a small advantage in that regard since they practice and play in the heat all the time.
Both these head coaches, Miami’s Adam Gase and Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis, entered the season on the proverbial hot seat but are off it for now with their team’s 3-1 start and first place in their division. Miami is a game up on New England in the AFC East, while Cincinnati is tied atop the AFC North with Baltimore – but the Bengals currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Including playoffs, Miami is 16-6 all-time vs. Cincinnati. The teams last played in 2016 in south Florida, and the Bengals prevailed 22-7. Andy Dalton threw for 296 yards and a touchdown. AJ Green caught that score as part of a 10-reception, 173-yard game. Ryan Tannehill threw for 189 yards with a touchdown and pick. Dalton and Tannehill will also be Sunday’s starters.
The Dolphins are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games vs the Bengals.
Miami Dolphins
Miami could have really put a hammerlock on the AFC East on Sunday but went to New England and got hammered 38-7. The Fins’ lone score was late in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout. They were held to 172 total yards and had 10 penalties.
Long story short: Miami was not as good as its 3-0 record entering the game might have indicated. The team has largely forgotten about No. 1 running back Kenyan Drake, as he had just eight carries fox six yards combined the past two weeks. Two starters, receiver DeVante Parker (quad) and safety Reshad Jones (shoulder), missed Week 4 and it’s not clear about this one. Centre Daniel Kilgore and cornerback Bobby McCain both left the game injured and didn’t return.
Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati has played three of its first four on the road, and it now enters a home-heavy portion of its schedule. The Bengals won a wild one Sunday in Atlanta, 37-36. Dalton hit Green on a 13-yard TD pass with six seconds to go. Dalton is off to one of the best starts of his career and threw for 337 yards and three scores. Tight end Tyler Eifert caught one of those but would eventually leave with a gruesome ankle injury, and his season is over. Eifert was one of the NFL’s best tight ends in 2015 but has barely stayed on the field since due to injuries.
The team will get back one reinforcement this week as the four-game suspension of top linebacker Vontaze Burfict is over. Not clear if running back Joe Mixon returns after missing the past two following minor knee surgery.
