Week 2 Patriots vs Dolphins: New England opens as two-touchdown favorites on the road

The New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins both opened the regular season at home but the results were nowhere near the same: while the Patriots blew out the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-3 on Sunday night, the Dolphins were destroyed by the Baltimore Ravens during a 59-10 beatdown. Given how the first week of the season went it is no surprise to see oddsmakers favor New England heading into Week 2.

Despite the game taking place in Miami, the reigning world champions are seen as two-touchdown favorites (via BetOnline.ag):

Line: Patriots -14.5

Over/under: 47.5

The line reflects the two division rivals’ recent trajectory. The Patriots looked like arguably the best team in football on Sunday night: their defense was virtually impenetrable, while the offense was efficient even without recently acquired Antonio Brown yet in the lineup. The team of new head coach Brian Flores, on the other hand, is facing questions and apparent internal pressure after its blowout loss against Baltimore.

With all that in mind, Miami has been a house of horrors of sorts for the Patriots recently: they are just 1-5 since at Hard Rock Stadium since the 2013 season and famously lost last year’s meeting on the now-called ‘Miami Miracle.’ Judging by last week’s games and the oddsmakers’ numbers, however, it sounds like another miracle is needed for the Dolphins to actually come away victoriously this Sunday.