The Miami Dolphins sit alone atop the AFC East. And while no other team is within true striking distance of them, they have yet to take their foot off the gas. Should we expect that to continue during their Week 15 matchup with the New York Jets?
We’ll have a definitive answer shortly after kick-off on Sunday, December 17, at 1 p.m. eastern standard time, on the field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Garden, Florida. For now, though, the latest NFL online betting odds intimate that the Dolphins will keep chugging along without issue:
Please remember to double-check these online NFL betting odds until you actually submit your wager. Our Dolphins vs. Jets betting odds are accurate entering Tuesday, December 5. That gives the best NFL online betting sites plenty of time to make adjustments leading into opening kick-off on December 17.
And because we’re tackling these NFL Week 15 picks so far in advance, we’ll be looking at the Dolphins vs. Jets point spread betting lines alone. The over/under and moneyline odds will drop later. For now, we’ll lay out the case for each team and deliver our final prediction.
So, will the Dolphins extend their lead in the AFC East with yet another win over a division rival? Or will the Jets defense be able to keep things close enough to steal a victory?
The Case for Betting on the Miami Dolphins in Week 15
Skepticism continues to permeate the Dolphins’ standing among contenders. Rattling off three straight victories following their bye week has done almost nothing to improve their odds to win Super Bowl 58.
That’s a pretty wild notion for a team with a top-tier offense and one of the best records in the NFL. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is going to get some MVP votes, and the defense has started turning a corner in recent weeks. Faith in the Dolphins should be higher than it is now.
Then again, the enduring concern isn’t exactly unfounded. Miami has yet to beat a team with a winning record. That matters. Except, well, it doesn’t necessarily matter here. Because the Jets are not above .500. Far from it, in fact.
The Dolphins, for their part, have typically made mincemeat out of opponents with losing records. All of their victories have come by an average margin of 18.6 points. Remove their 50-point drubbing of the Denver Broncos from the record, and that margin of victory still sits comfortably above two touchdowns (14.7 points)
Miami’s current Week 15 point spread needs them to win by roughly half that amount to cover. That’s hardly a tall order.
The Case for Betting on the New York Jets in Week 15
Building a case for the Jets to win is pretty hard when they haven’t picked up a victory since Week 8. It’s even tougher when the offense verges on hopeless. It doesn’t matter whether they’re running out Tim Boyle or Zach Wilson or Trevor Siemian. They simply don’t move the chains nearly consistently enough. In most weeks, their offense is dead on arrival, if not before they ever kick off.
Still, New York’s defense remains tough as nails. After getting torched in Weeks 11 and 12, they were back to their usual stingy selves in Week 13. The offense just couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Perhaps that changes in Week 15. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has started doing light practice work after suffering an Achilles injury Week 1. There is an outside chance he returns to the lineup against the Dolphins, which would breathe new life into the Jets’ chances to beat Miami.
Official Dolphins vs. Jets Week 15 Prediction
This ultimately isn’t a difficult decision. We will pounce on the Dolphins’ Week 15 moneyline whenever it comes out. But the point spread is bound to provide more value.
Rodgers’ status for this game doesn’t bug us in the slightest. For starters, the Jets would be foolish to bring him back when they’re playoff hopes are pretty much dead. More than that, he’s returning from a major injury and hasn’t played live-game action in months. It would be a legitimate surprise if he comes back and immediately flings a bunch of touchdown passes.
More than anything, the Dolphins are just flat-out good. They hung 45 points on the Jets defense just a couple of weeks ago, and their own defense is getting better at holding serve. Miami has allowed fewer than 16 points per game over their past five tilts.
Whether the Dolphins’ defensive rise stands up to fellow Super Bowl contenders is a separate matter. And we’ll get an answer during their final three games. They’re slated to play the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, in that order, over the last three weeks of the season.
Immediately, though, the Dolphins only need to scoop up a victory against one of the NFL’s worst teams by a medium-sized point margin. We’re betting they’ll do just that. And it wouldn’t shock us, at all, if they wind up winning this by 20-plus points.
OSB Prediction: Miami Dolphins, -7.5 (-110)
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