Monday Night Football tonight will see a matchup of 3-0 teams when the Miami Dolphins take on the New Orleans Saints. The game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have the Saints favored by about a touchdown.
Nobody should be surprised that the New Orleans Saints are 3-0 heading into this game. The Miami Dolphins on the other hand? Probably a bit surprised as they've already beaten Indianapolis and Atlanta. Now they'll take to the Superdome where Drew Brees is king and a place where the Saints don't lose often.
Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphin offense hasn't been the most explosive to this point in the season, but their defense has played pretty well. New Orleans, who often gets a bad rap for having a subpar defense and a stellar offense, has gotten great play from their defense as well — holding Atlanta to 17, Tampa Bay to 14 and Arizona to 7. Not a bad three-game span. Who knew that Rob Ryan could have a defense that actually played well and it getting things done?
Last year the Saints scored 31 points and got beat three different times. Don't expect that to happen in this game tonight. Miami is a solid underdog team when playing in road games but the Saints look like a team that is poised to start the season off on one of those seven or eight games winning streaks.
Will Miami choose to keep the ball on the ground in this one? Seems like with being a touchdown underdog they'd want to be able to stay as close as possible. If Brees and the offense get moving for New Orleans it could be a one-sided contest. The Dolphins are dealing with some injuries on that side of the football, and if they can't get consistent pressure on Brees tonight it's going to be a long game.
The Dolphin offense has been out-gained in all three games so far. They are tops in the league in cashing in when it comes to the red zone, however, with an impressive 88 percent scoring rate. Both teams are fairly solid in the turnover differential and New Orleans' defense is actually allowing less than 300 yards per game. That will be the difference in this game — the Saints finally have a defense that is playing at a very high level.
Brees should have a big game playing in the dome and look for New Orleans to cover the number.
Free Pick: New Orleans 31, Miami 14
NFL Free Picks: Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints Betting
What pro football bettors need to know betting Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints on Monday (9/30/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik, with Bryan Leonard and Vegas Runner.
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