New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Betting Odds, Trends, and Picks for NFL Week 18 on FanDuel Sportsbook

Although the Patriots are currently the fifth seed in the AFC, they're not officially eliminated from getting the top spot. New England would need the Texans, Broncos, and Jets to win their games as underdogs. FiveThirtyEight's playoff prediction model estimates New England's chances for the number one seed at roughly 0.3%. While those numbers look grim, don't expect Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick, to take the game off or rest his players. Belichick always sees each game as an opportunity for his teams to compete and get better. And with a possible playoff game the following week, you can bet the Patriots will want to be as sharp as possible for whomever their opponent might be.

The Patriots will also have plenty of motivation in this game after losing to the Dolphin in Week 1. Miami's won three of the past four meetings against New England, which can't sit well with Belichick since those losses came against Brian Flores, who worked on his coaching staff before taking the Miami job. I can't see the Dolphins putting up much of a fight after being eliminated from playoff contention in Week 17 by the Titans.

Don't expect Belichick and the Patriots to sympathize with Miami. Note that in the final week of the season, New England's 5-1 against the spread and straight-up in its last six games in this spot. Moreover, all five of those wins were by at least two touchdowns.

I think this is an awful spot for the Dolphins, and I could only look to lay the points with the road favorites.