Carolina Panthers vs. Miami Dolphins 2017: Monday Night Football Prediction, Betting Odds

The final game of Week 10 has plenty of playoff implications. The Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins are both on the edge of the postseason picture as they head into their matchup on “Monday Night Football.”

Carolina currently has the No.6 seed in the NFC with a 6-3 record, and they trail the New Orleans Saints by one game in the NFC South. Miami isn’t going to catch the New England Patriots in the AFC East, but a victory would tie them with the Buffalo Bills for the final wild-card spot in the conference.

It’s kind of hard to believe that the two teams are in similar positions in regard to the playoffs. The Panthers have won two games in a row, most recently defeating the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons. The Dolphins have been defeated by the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, who are both currently out of the postseason, in their last two games. Miami would fall below .500 with a loss in Carolina.

That’s why the betting odds favor the Panthers so heavily Monday night. Carolina is giving the visiting Dolphins 8.5 points, via OddsShark. The over/under is just 38.5.

Miami has the NFL’s worst offense. They are last in yards per game (270.3) and points per game (14.5). Jay Cutler looks like he never really wanted to come out of his brief retirement, ranking 20th in passer rating and 31st in yards per attempt. After trading Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dolphins don’t have a player on the roster with more than 100 yards on the ground in 2017.

The Panthers have a chance to blow out the Dolphins at home. Cam Newton has looked like the quarterback that won the 2015 NFL MVP award at times, though those kinds of performances have been few and far between.

Newton has an even worse passer rating than Cutler, joining DeShone Kizer, C.J. Beathard and Joe Flacco as the only current starting quarterbacks with a rating below 80.0. He’s thrown for fewer than 212 yards in each of the Panthers’ last three games. Carolina hasn’t scored more than 20 points in a game in a month.

Carolina’s offense probably won’t have to do too much, considering how bad the Dolphins’ offense is and how good the Panthers’ defense has been. The unit ranks first in yards allowed and third in points allowed.

While Super Bowl contenders like the Eagles, Saints and Patriots have had success against Carolina, teams without elite offenses have struggled. The 49ers, Bills, Bears, Buccaneers and Falcons were all held to 17 points or fewer when facing the Panthers. The Dolphins should suffer the same fate.

Prediction: Carolina over Miami, 23-16