When it comes to regular-season play, the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers have flipped the switch in terms of trends. While the home team is 5-0 between these two in preseason play, it took just one regular-season meeting for the visitors to find something to smile about. The Dolphins won 13-9 at Carolina in 1998 in the first-ever meeting between these two teams. Miami won the first four games from the Panthers – two on the road and two at home.
Finally in 2013, the Panthers rolled into Miami and beat the Dolphins for the first time, taking a 20-16 verdict when quarterback Cam Newton connected with Greg Olsen on a one-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the fourth quarter. It didn’t look like it would happen, though. The Dolphins led 16-6 at halftime before Newtown engineered the comeback, running for a TD before throwing for the winning score. But the form charts returned in the latest meeting between the two, Carolina routing visiting Miami 45-21 in 2017.
Despite Miami’s 4-2 advantage in the won-loss column, the series has been closely fought over the years. The total points from the six games sees the Dolphins holding a slim 124-121 edge. Just two of the six meetings have been decided by margins of larger than a touchdown.
Gase-ing Into The Future – The Dolphins made the playoffs in 2016 as an AFC Wildcard team, but pro sports is and always will be a what have you done for me lately business. Miami slumped to 6-10 last season, leaving the Dolphins with one winning season since 2008 and the darts being aimed directly at head coach Adam Gase. Just the 12th coach in Dolphins history, Gase is a mediocre 16-16 through two seasons in charge of the team.
As he enters his third season in charge, Gase finds himself facing severe scrutiny, and Betway has noticed. The online sportsbook lists the Dolphins coach at +750 as their second choice on a wager about which NFC coach will be the first to be fired during the 2018 season. History certainly isn’t in Gase’s corner. He’s the ninth head coach the Dolphins have employed since 2004. That works out to a coaching change every 1.6 seasons. Hard to believe this is the same team that had Don Shula as head coach from 1970-95.
Fishing For Success – The Dolphins certainly don’t have Bovada in their corner when it comes to their potential to be an NFL postseason participant in 2018. The online sportsbook is offering odds of -700 that the Dolphins will miss the playoffs this season, something that they’ve done in eight of the past nine seasons and of the last 15 campaigns. If you make a play on the Dolphins reaching the playoffs with Bovada, they will give you odds of +475.
Carolina was an NFC wildcard team last season, finishing 11-5 and in second place in the NFC South, which sent three of its four teams to the playoffs, though none managed to get as far as the NFC Championship Game. To get back to the playoffs, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera will need to post back-to-back winning seasons, something he’s yet to do in his tenure with the team. Bovada has the Panthers set at +130 to make the playoffs and -160 to miss the playoffs.
Super Bowl Bound – Carolina has played in the Super Bowl – two of them in fact – allthough they came out on the short end of the score both times. Miami has won two Super Bowls and played in the game five times, going 2-3. So what are the chances of both of these teams reaching the Super Bowl in the same season? According to MyBookie, not very good at all. The oddsmakers at MyBookie have posted listings for every possible Super Bowl LIII matchup that could happen and a Dolphins-Panthers game offers odds of +80000.
Figuring Newton – Assessing that he has recovered from shoulder problems that plagued him last season, could Panthers quarterback Newton be poised to return to the form that made him the NFL’s MVP in 2015, when he led the Panthers to the NFC Championship and Super Bowl 50? If so, you can get a decent price on Cam. Bovada lists Newton as the co-sixth choice in the NFL MVP future book. He’s at odds of +2000, as are two other QBs – DeShaun Watson of the Houston Texans and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks.
Christian Singles – BetOnline is offering a couple of player performance wagers on Panthers second-year running back Christian McCaffrey. For starters, you can play an over/under wager on McCaffrey’s rushing yards for 2018, with the total set at 625. The over or the under get you the same odds, -115. There’s also an over/under bet on McCaffrey’s total TDs, with the total set at 7.5. Over gets you odds of -125, while the under is worth -105. For reference points, McCaffrey ran for 435 yards as a rookie and scored five TDs.
Cam Crunching – There are also a series of player prop over/under bets available at BetOnline on Newton’s 2018 numbers under center. His total TD passes are set at 23. Over will get you -120 odds and under is at -110. Newton’s interception total is set at 16.5. Over is worth -125, and under is at -105. Thirdly, there’s Newton’s passing yardage, which is put at a total of 3450 yards. Over is worth -120 and under is pegged at -110. In 2017, Newtown threw 22 touchdown passes, passed for 3302 yards and was picked off 16 times.
Parker Picks – On the Dolphins side of the ledger BetOnline also offers a couple of player prop under/under wagers on Miami wide receiver DeVante Parker. Parker’s total touchdowns for 2018 are set at 3.5. Play the over at -130 or bet the under at +100. Parker’s receiving yardage for the season is given a total of 750 yards. The over wager will get you odds of -130, while betting the under is worth +100. Last season, Parker went for 670 yards but only found the end zone once.
