There are some awesome football games on the schedule, but folks across the country most definitely can’t wait for the Monday Night Football showdown between Miami and New Orleans. This will surely be a good one. In this article, we have MNF picks for Saints vs. Dolphins in Week 16. Which side will end up being able to record a needed win in primetime?
• What: Monday Night Football Week 16
• Who: New Orleans Saints vs. Miami Dolphins
• When: Monday, Dec. 27
• Where: New Orleans, La.
To no one’s surprise, the Saints are home favorites going up against the Dolphins when they meet during Monday Night Football. Playing at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is never easy for anyone and the crowd is surely going to try and make things difficult for Tua Tagovailoa and the rest of the Miami Dolphins offense. Miami will try and overcome that here, though.
With the Dolphins, Tagovailoa has really stepped his game up in the second part of the season. The former first-round pick has been fantastic throwing the ball around. Guys like Jaylen Waddle have stepped up, while it has also been nice to see Davante Parker come back from injury and make a big impact on the offense. The hope is that can continue going up against the Saints.
| MNF odds |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints to win | -142 | -142 | -142 | -142 |
| Dolphins to win | +120 | +120 | +120 | +120 |
| Saints to cover | -104 | -104 | -104 | -104 |
| Miami to cover | -118 | -118 | -118 | -118 |
For the home team, the Saints have been negatively impacted by injuries this campaign, of course including quarterback Jameis Winston suffering his ACL injury and being ruled out for the rest of the season. Taysom Hill is all set to get the start on Monday night. The Miami defense will look to apply heavy pressure on him and not give him open space to break free for long runs.
According to the top online betting sites, the Saints have been given -142 NFL Vegas odds. The Dolphins are underdogs for this showdown, as they’ve been given +120 odds. While Miami has been playing hot of late and Tagovailoa is firing on all cylinders, we think the Saints will be able to record a strong night and grab the win. We’re going with New Orleans as our pick. Agree? Check out NFL betting sites and get a wager in.
When taking a look at other bets, the Saints should also cover the spread in this contest. Per the oddsmakers, New Orleans is -3, while Miami is +3. We think that New Orleans will be able to win this one by a touchdown. How so? Well, it’s our belief that Alvin Kamara is about to have himself a monster game going up against the Miami defense and its inconsistent front-seven.
Kamara is back to full health and that’s been great to see for New Orleans and head coach Sean Payton. When he’s on the field, he’s the total package for this team. Kamara has unreal speed, which makes him oh so dangerous in open space. On top of that, he does such a fantastic job catching the ball out of the backfield. Plain and simple, he’s a headache for opposing defenses.
“Just having his presence on the field and having the ability to hand him the ball and all of that stuff, like man he just does so much for this team, just being there,” Hill said on Kamara recently. “He’s a great leader, he’s an emotional guy, plays with a lot of emotion. So, there’s so many things intangibly that he brings as well that the stats don’t quantify, but statistically, they obviously speak for themselves as well.”
While Miami’s offense has really improved, of course led by Tagovailoa, New Orleans should be able to dominate this one early on. The home crowd should have an impact on Miami too. Because of this, we think New Orleans could end up winning 28-21 or something along those lines. It’d be a shock if the Saints don’t win by at least three points. Our pick is with them covering the spread.
All eyes will be on the ground game, which is why Alvin Kamara should find the end zone in the Saints win, which is what we’re predicting. Time and time again Kamara showcases just how important he is for the offense. There’s a reason Payton is all smiles whenever the speedster is back in the lineup for this team. He changes everything for how the offense operates.
In the Week 14 win over the Jets, the first extensive action Kamara saw in a while, he rushed for 120 yards and added a touchdown. On top of that, Kamara was also able to haul in four receptions. That number figures to grow going up against the Dolphins, as Hill will be relying on Kamara to have another big game. If he plays to his usual level, he’ll put the Saints in a great position to win.
While the odds for this particular prop bet haven’t been released yet, it’d be a major stunner if Kamara doesn’t make his way to the end zone in this showdown. He’s going to get a ton of touches, as the offense will revolve around his abilities. Hill will feed him handoffs and passes from start to finish. Indeed, our pick is for Kamara to find the end zone at least once.
