Is it a point spectacle between two top teams?
The entire NFC West loses. The entire NFC West? No. Because the 49ers continue to go from win to win. While the Cardinals and Seahawks lost for the second time and the Rams for the fifth time in a row, the Niners won their fourth game in a row. Thanks to outstanding defence, they beat the Saints 13-0 at “Levi’s Stadium” and set their win-loss record at 7-4. For the Saints, it was the first defeat without points of their own since 2001.
While the Niners have won four of five home games this season, it’s still somewhat surprising that the hosts are favourites in the 49ers vs Dolphins game. A tip that Kyle Shanahan’s team will also win the upcoming clash in Santa Clara brings odds of up to 1.53.
The current winning streak of both teams shows how high class the duel can be on Sunday night. While San Francisco, as mentioned, has won the last four games, Miami is on a five-game winning streak. Most recently, the franchise, which has had Mike McDaniel, the former 49ers offensive coordinator, as head coach since last summer, won against the Texans.
San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & current form
After seven weeks, the Niners stood with only three wins after their only home loss so far. Then followed victories against the Rams, Chargers, Cardinals and most recently against the Saints. The most impressive statistic in this period is probably without question that DeMeco Ryans’ defence did not allow points to the opponent in the second half in any of these games.
The 49ers defensive unit is number one in the entire league, allowing the fewest points, yards and 1st downs per game on average. They also allow the fewest yards per run attempt to opponents and have allowed just nine passing touchdowns.
No high scoring offense
The win against the Saints was clearly on the defense. As expected, the offense had a hard time with a good Saints defense and had problems for a long time to bring consistent offensive series on the turf. In the course of the first half, however, the Niners found solutions again and again and marched down the field twice for 78 and 61 yards.
Only the second long drive ended with points and a touchdown by Jauan Jennings. He is taking on a bigger and bigger role in the pass receiving group and is always looked for by Jimmy Garoppolo, especially in critical moments like 3rd downs.
This also shows that defenses can definitely succeed in defending the multitude of offensive options well. This, in turn, opens up spaces for the wide receiver Jennings, who has probably been underestimated so far. He has become an important factor and constant in San Francisco’s offensive game. If he follows up his first touchdown with a second in the upcoming game, the 49ers vs. the Dolphins game will offer very interesting odds.
With an average of 22.6 points, the offence is anything but a high-scoring offence. In combination with the enormously strong defence, the Niners are nevertheless an absolute top team in the NFC. They currently rank third in the conference and if the 49ers beat the Dolphins, our prediction is that they might even be able to look towards second place in the final third of the season.
Key Players:
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo
RB: Christian McCaffrey
WR: Deebo Samuel
TE: George Kittle
K: Robbie Gould
Miami Dolphins – Statistics & current form
But with the Dolphins one of the top teams of the NFL is waiting. Miami is currently ranked first in the AFC East and second in the conference. Only the Chiefs are still ahead of them, who have also won five games in a row. The biggest strength of the team from the state of Florida is the offence, which puts an average of three points more on the scoreboard than the offensive unit of the upcoming opponent. In the last four games they always scored at least 30 points.
Still unbeaten with Tua
This season, Miami playmaker Tua Tagovailoa missed two games due to injury, but one record still stands: games Tua has started and finished as the starting quarterback, the Dolphins have not lost. Just as they have done five times recently. If you bet on this series continuing after the 49ers vs. Dolphins, odds of 2.70 for a Miami win are possible.
Apart from Tua, the two wide receivers Jalen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are of course responsible for the fact that the offence works so well. While the latter already has over 1200 yards, Waddle is still 37 yards short of reaching the 1000-yard mark. That he will record this against the Niners is extremely likely. Both together caught 10 of the 22 touchdown passes, with the 22 successful passes into the end zone being the second best value in the league.
It will definitely be interesting to see how well the running game works against San Francisco. Mike McDaniel comes from Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staff, so the two know each other very well. McDaniel installed similar variable running concepts since taking over in Miami as he used during his time with the 49ers. He also brought in Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr, two running backs he already knew from his previous station.
The defence is only mediocre and can hardly carry the team. However, that is not necessary with the well-functioning offence. There are definitely starting points in the run and passing game for the home side in the 49ers vs. Dolphins match-up. Therefore, we wouldn’t venture a bet on Miami being able to hold the Niners to under 27 points.
Key Players:
QB: Tua Tagovailoa
RB: Jeff Wilson Jr.
WR: Tyreek Hill
TE: Mike Gesicki
K: Jason Sanders
San Francisco 49ers – Miami Dolphins Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
There have been 14 duels between the two teams and one of them took place in Super Bowl XIX in 1985. At that time San Francisco celebrated the second of five Super Bowl victories. However, of the last five duels, which took place between 2004 and 2020, the team from the Bay Area won only one.
For Tua Tagovailoa, it will be his first appearance against the franchise from the West Coast. His counterpart “JimmyG” will be facing Miami for the third time as the starting quarterback. In the previous games, he only managed a win against the Floridians with his former team, the New England Patriots. The bookmakers estimate the probability of him achieving his first win with the 49ers vs. Dolphins at around 64%, according to the odds.
San Francisco 49ers – Miami Dolphins Tip
There is absolutely no question that this clash represents a top-of-the-table duel in Week 13. The two teams absolutely go toe-to-toe, and that makes for a tough prediction in the 49ers vs Dolphins matchup. If the Niners’ defence has a weak spot, it’s most likely the pass defence and that’s where Miami has incredible quality. That’s why we can only understand the slight favouritism of the home side to a limited extent. We therefore dare to recommend that the guests can win the game.
In order to win the game, the hosts will have to keep up with the firepower of the visitors and that will be very difficult, despite the numerous playmakers in the offensive line. Now running back Elijah Mitchell is also out for several weeks. In general, however, we expect a game that will be dominated by both offences. Between the 49ers and Dolphins the betting odds for Over/Under 46.5 points are 1.90.