Dee Friedman
Following week 11 games against the Rams and Bills, respectively, Denver and Miami will hook up in the Mile High City in week 12 . While it appears to be a forgone conclusion that the Broncos will be in the playoffs, Miami must play well down the stretch to earn their first postseason bid since 2008. Miami has dominated the all-time series with Denver with an 11-5-1 record. But the teams haven’t met since 2011, when Denver beat the Fins 18-15 in overtime.
Miami will have a bit of extra time to prepare for the Broncos after playing on Thursday night in week 11. The Dolphins are above .500 on the road, sitting at 3-2 both straight-up and against the spread. After losing at Buffalo 29-10 in week 2, Miami dominated the Raiders in London, won at Chicago and Jacksonville, and, most recently, dropped a nail-biter at Detroit 20-16 after surrendering a touchdown in the final minute. Four of Miami’s five road games have stayed under the total. The Dolphins’ greatest strength is their ability to limit opposing passing games; they surrender just over 200 yards a game through the air. The Dolphins also run the ball effectively and, in recent weeks, have received solid quarterback play from Ryan Tannehill.
The Broncos will be playing their only home game during a five week stretch and their first in a month. Denver is 5-0 in front of their fans but just 3-2 against the spread. After one score wins over Indianapolis and Kansas City during the first two weeks of the season, Denver blew out the Cardinals at home in week 5, smashed the Niners in week 7, and dominated San Diego in week 8. Unlike Miami on the road, Denver’s home games have hit the over in four of five. With Peyton Manning under center and a litany of weapons out wide – including Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker, and tight end Julius Thomas – the Broncos have the second best passing attack in the league. On defense they stop the run well and are top ten in the league in sacks, led by linebackers Von Miller and Demarcus Ware.
Miami has won three of their last four trips to Denver. They are 1-1 against the AFC West this season, while the Broncos are 1-1 against the AFC East. Perhaps the most relevant trend, though, is that Denver is 19-2 at home during the past three seasons.
(Photo credit: By Henry D19 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)
