Dolphins Vs. Bengals Preview: Three Best Bets For Thursday Night Football

Now that Week 3 of the NFL regular season is behind us, let’s try to start Week 4 on the winning track with a big “Thursday Night Football” matchup between the unbeaten Miami Dolphins and defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals, who opened as a 1.5-point favorite, now are getting four points at home against Mike McDaniel’s unbeaten Dolphins. The total has been set at over/under 47, according to consensus data.

Here are three bets to make ahead of the contest between AFC foes.

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Bengals -4 (-110, DraftKings)
Both teams enter this primetime game with questions looming. For the Dolphins, they are dealing with the reality of preparing on a short week while having a banged up quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa. Miami also had an emotionally and physically draining win against the Bills on Sunday. Will they be able to remain such a high-flying offense? As for the Bengals, they finally got their first win after starting 0-2, but there is a ton of pressure in this spot. This game is on primetime TV, they are at home and this young team is still trying to fulfill expectations after making it to the Super Bowl last season. Can they handle prosperity? Ultimately, I think the Dolphins have more obstacles to overcome leading up to this game and that’s why I’m betting on the Bengals to cover the four-point spread.

UNDER 47 (-110, DraftKings)
My prediction of the style of play in this game will be for Cincinnati to try and wear down the Dolphins’ defense. That means a heavy dose of Joe Mixon running the ball and taking calculated shots down field with Joe Burrow and his weapons on the outside. The Dolphins come in touting one of the most explosive passing attacks in the NFL, but they rank second to last in running the football. So, if the Bengals defense can keep Miami one dimensional and generate a pass rush, the Dolphins won’t be as prolific at scoring points. These are the reasons that I’m betting the Under 47.

Joe Mixon anytime touchdown (-130, DraftKings)
My final bet for this game is on a player who I think will be the star of the night. Mixon will dictate the tempo of the game and ultimately help the Bengals grind out a win. I love every individual prop bet on Mixon.  I think he’ll go over his 64.5 rushing yards and his 18.5 receiving yards, as well. Mixon is such an overall talent that he can beat you both ways. His versatility is one of the reasons why my favorite play on him is the anytime touchdown prop. If he is a focal point of the offense like I believe he will be, there are just too many ways he can score in this game that we the bettors can take advantage of.