MIAMI vs LAS VEGAS
When: 12/26/2020 8:15 PM
Where:

TV: 8:15 PM
LINE: 3
PREDICTION: LAS VEGAS , MIAMI

Oddsmakers currently have the LAS VEGAS listed as 3 point favorites versus the MIAMI, while the game’s total is sitting at 48.

The Miami Dolphins head into the final two weeks of the regular season occupying the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC. But as far as coach Brian Flores is concerned, his team must approach Saturday night’s game at Las Vegas with a playoff mentality.

“Our playoff is this week against the Raiders,” Flores said. “We’re in a one-game season.”

The Dolphins and eighth-seed Baltimore are both 9-5 heading into this weekend’s action but the Ravens, who host the New York Giants (5-9) before finishing up at Cincinnati (3-10-1), on paper have a big edge in the remaining schedule. After playing Las Vegas (7-7), which mathematically still has a very slim chance at making the playoffs, Miami must travel to Buffalo (11-3), which has already clinched the AFC East crown.

“It’s good to kind of (go) through that and realize we’re still playing meaningful football,” Flores said.

The Dolphins, who will spend their Christmas Day flying across the country to Las Vegas, eliminated the New England Patriots from the playoff race with a 22-12 victory on Sunday. Undrafted free agent Salvon Ahmed led the way, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown, as Miami, despite starting six rookies on offense, rushed for 250 yards, breaking the 200-yard mark on the ground in a game for the first time since Dec. 24, 2016 at Buffalo, when it ran for 261 yards.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went 20-of-26 passing for 145 yards and an interception and also rushed for two touchdowns to improve to 5-2 as a starter. The fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama is completing 63.5 percent of his passes in his starts to go with nine touchdown passes and two interceptions.

Depending on how things go in practice this week, Tagovailoa could be matched up against his fellow Honolulu St. Louis High School alum, Raiders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Mariota took over in relief for Derek Carr, who suffered a groin injury late in the first quarter in Thursday night’s 30-27 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He went 17-of-28 passing for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception before leaving. He also rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, with eight of his runs accounting for first downs.

“I think that would be awesome seeing Marcus (play) because me and (linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill), we’re both from Hawaii,” Tagovailoa said when asked by reporters after Sunday’s win about the possibility of a potential all-Hawaii quarterback battle. “Marcus is from Hawaii. Me and Marcus went to the same high school. I think that (would) be something pretty cool, something special.”

However, Carr alternated snaps with Mariota in practice on Tuesday and said he’s “doing everything in his power” to try and play on Saturday night.

“We’ll see how it goes this week,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “He’s chomping at the bit to play. We’ll do what we think is right for Derek and this team.”

Carr pulled up and grabbed the inside of his left leg while trying to scramble around right end, hopping out of the bounds and heading straight to the locker room.

“I went to sprint for the end zone and it just went,” he said of his groin.

The loss to the Chargers was the fourth in the last five games for Las Vegas, which ends the regular season at Denver. The Raiders are just 5-13 (.278 percent) in December-January games since the start of 2017. Only the Carolina Panthers (4-12) have a worse mark during that span.

Three defensive starters — safety Johnathan Abram, linebacker Nicholas Morrow and cornerback Damon Arnette — who sat out the loss to the Chargers with concussions were limited in practice on Tuesday, while defensive end Clelin Ferrell (shoulder) remained out. Safety Erik Harris joined defensive back Daryl Worley, cornerback Isaiah Johnson and wide receiver Henry Ruggs III on the COVID-19 list while linebacker Tanner Muse was shifted to injured reserve.

Miami guard Solomon Kindley, carted off with a knee injury in Sunday’s win, did not suffer any structural damage and could play Saturday. Kindley, a rookie who has started 13 games, was the only Dolphin to sit out Tuesday’s practice.

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LAS VEGAS vs DENVER
When: 1/3/2021 4:25 PM
Where:

TV: 4:25 PM
LINE: -2
PREDICTION: DENVER , LAS VEGAS

Oddsmakers currently have the DENVER listed as -2 point favorites versus the LAS VEGAS, while the game’s total is sitting at 50.5.

Now that 2020 is ending without a postseason for the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos, the teams are looking toward 2021 already.

First, they have to wrap up this schedule and start making decisions for the next one, and that will happen when Las Vegas plays at Denver on Sunday afternoon.

For the Raiders (7-8), their first year in their new home was marked by missed opportunities that cost them a chance to get in the expanded playoff field. Las Vegas is the only team to beat the Kansas City Chiefs this season, but a flat performance against Atlanta and last-second losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins turned what could have been an 11-win season into a mediocre one.

Despite the tough losses, there is a silver lining. Tight end Darren Waller is on the verge of 100 receptions; his 98 catches (for 1,079 yards and eight touchdowns) are just seven shy of Tim Brown’s franchise record and earned him a Pro Bowl selection.

Running back Josh Jacobs is 24 yards from a second straight 1,000-yard rushing season and was also named to the Pro Bowl.

“Oh, they’re great,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said of the duo. “(Waller’s) a man that’s on the verge of potentially breaking Tim Brown’s record, one I thought never would be broken. And Josh Jacobs, those are two great building blocks.”

Waller, Jacobs and the rest of the Las Vegas offense could have a big day against Denver’s banged-up defense. Linebacker Bradley Chubb, who was also named to the Pro Bowl, has an ankle injury that kept him out of last week’s loss at the Chargers.

Defensive end Shelby Harris (knee) and safety Trey Marshall (quadriceps) are also nursing injuries. Wide receiver KJ Hamler is in the concussion protocol.

The Raiders listed several players on their injury report — tackle Trent Brown (knee), defensive end Clelin Ferrell (shoulder), guard Denzelle Good (ankle), defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (calf) and cornerback Lamarcus Joyner (thigh).

Denver (5-10) failed to reach the postseason for the fifth straight year, matching the drought from 2006-10. The Broncos hoped to see quarterback Drew Lock make a big leap after he had an impressive ending to 2019, but the second-year QB out of Missouri has struggled.

Lock has thrown 15 interceptions and has at least one turnover in 11 straight games, but he hasn’t lost confidence in himself and embraces the pressure of being a franchise quarterback.

“You feel that from Day 1 when you’re playing quarterback for any team,” Lock said Wednesday. “It’s a given pressure that is put on you, but it’s one that I’m excited about. It’s one that I’m going to carry with me into the offseason, so I can have an offseason unlike any other.

“The only thing I need to prove is that we can win a game with me under center. That’s what every quarterback has to prove — take care of the ball, put us in a good position to win the game and finish it out with a win. That’s all I want to do, and that’s all I care to do. However that needs to happen and however it does happen, I’m going to do everything I can to get us that.”

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LAS VEGAS vs CAROLINA
When: 9/13/2020 1:00 PM
Where:

TV: 1:00 PM
LINE: 1
PREDICTION: CAROLINA , LAS VEGAS

Oddsmakers currently have the CAROLINA listed as 1 point favorites versus the LAS VEGAS, while the game’s total is sitting at 47.

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