Dolphins Odds and Betting Trends

Bet on Miami Dolphins

For the 10 years or so following the AFL-NFL merger, the Miami Dolphins were arguably the top franchise in the league in terms of on-field success – and an excellent bet, particularly in the playoffs. Even into the 1980s/early 90s were the Dolphins a perpetual contender to at least win the AFC East and maybe get to the AFC Championship game. But from 1993 through 2021, the Dolphins went From 1993 through 2021 season, Miami managed a meager 4-9 SU/5-8 ATS showing in the playoffs – needless to say, not a priority for the NFL bettor until further notic by NFLbets… 

About Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins were born in 1967 as the American Football League’s answer to NFL expansion into the South with establishment of the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints in ’66. The Dolphins rapidly went from expansion doldrums to bona fide contention after just four seasons.

For the first post-merger season in 1970, the Dolphins brought in Don Shula, a guy who’d already been to one Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts. All Shula did was help morph a 3-10-1 bottom-feeder into a 10-4 playoff team in his first season as coach. For an encore, Shula led his fabled “No Name Defense” plus an offense led by Bob Griese with Shula additions Larry Csonka (still Miami’s all-time leading rusher, with 301 more than Ricky Williams) and Paul Warfield into Super Bowl VI. Topping that, the Dolphins won it all in Super Bowl VII and chased *that* with the first and famously still only undefeated season in modern NFL history.

This was both peak and trigger for a crazy run of success: From 1971 to 2001, Miami made the playoffs in 21 of the next 31 seasons and appeared in five Super Bowls. Of the Super Bowl appearances, Shula was Miami coach of each. After stumbling into Super Bowl XVII following the shortened season of ’82, the Dolphins landed QB Dan Merino in the legendary 1983 NFL Draft. By ’85, Marino teamed with Mark “Super” Duper and Mark Clayon (and later Irving Fryar) to create the AFC’s highest-flying passing attack, but only another Super Bowl loss followed that season.

Marino would help the Dolphins get into the playoffs five more times (including two more AFAC Championship games) and went 8-10 SU/7-11 ATS, but in hindsight never truly looked like a contender after ’85. Post-1999 retirement, Marino has gone from wearing the label of Top 10 quarterback of all-time to Greatest QB To Never Win the Super Bowl.

As for the team itself, the 21st century has not been kind. From 2002 to ’21 (and coincidentally the expansion of the league to eight divisions of four teams each), the Dolphins along with division mates the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills have on one hand mostly existed in the shadow of the Belichick/Brady Patriots; on the other hand, blaming the competition only goes so far.

From 2001 through 2020, i.e. the first 20 years of the century, the Dolphins went – get this – 0-3 SU/ATS by an average score of 26-8 in the playoffs, with all three unders hitting on the over/under. living firmly in the shadow of the New England Patriots, the Dolphins managed five seasons of 10 wins or more, twice missing the postseason anyway and once when head coach Brian Flores was allegedly offered a reward to lose games.

This continued futility had typically made the Dolphins a highly unpredictable and thus unappetizing team for NFL bettors to wager on. 

The Official Miami Dolphins website

Summary

Once one of the most feared teams in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins haven’t given NFL bettors very much to feel good about in three decades plus. The best season the Dolphins have had since Dan Marino left the team was in 2008 and even then, they managed only to go 11-6 SU – and 8-9 ATS! – in all games that year. When considering betting on the Dolphins at any point since year 2000, bet at your own risk…