Dolphins vs. Saints Week 16 Picks: Miami Handed a Gift?

The Miami Dolphins will bid to extend their win streak to seven games when they take on the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome on Monday night. We break it down our Dolphins-Saints picks.

The Dolphins are now 7-7 straight up for the season after racking up six straight wins. The wins have mainly come against teams with losing records, but Miami deserves a great deal of credit for turning its season around. It needs to win out to wrap up a place in the playoffs.

The Saints are tied for eighth in the NFC with a 7-7 record after winning back-to-back games against the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are level with the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, but the Vikings hold a tiebreaker thanks to their superior in-conference win record, so the Saints need to keep winning as well. New Orleans is 7-7 ATS for the season, while the Dolphins are 7-6-1.

Here are my picks and predictions for the NFL's Week 16 matchup between the Dolphins and Saints (odds via BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Dolphins vs. Saints Week 16 Game Info

Date/Time: Monday, Dec. 27, 8.15 p.m. ETTV: ESPNLocation: Caesars SuperdomeWeather: Indoors

Dolphins vs. Saints Odds Analysis

New Orleans opened as the 3-point favorite after securing a 9-0 win against the Bucs in Week 15. It was Tom Brady’s first shutout defeat since 2006. However, the line has moved dramatically after the Saints placed nine players on the COVID-19 reserve list, including QBs Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill.

As of Friday, 56% of the bets but only 46% of the cash wagered had come in on the Dolphins, with Miami now a 2.5-point favorite.

The total dropped from 39.5 to 37.5. The market's in line on the Over, with 59% of tickets and 66% of the money expecting this game to top the number.

Dolphins vs. Saints Picks

Dolphins -2.5 (-110) ???Under 37.5 (-110) ???

SEE ALSO: Top Monday Night Football Prop Picks

Dolphins vs. Saints Predictions

Dolphins -2.5 (-110)

The Dolphins have a great opportunity to extend their win streak against a seriously depleted Saints team.

Rookie fourth-round pick Ian Brook is in line to make his first NFL start in this big Monday night game, which does not inspire a great deal of confidence.

Miami placed three more players on the COVID list – tight end Cethan Carter, offensive lineman Greg Mancz and linebacker Duke Riley – but the Dolphins are in much better shape than the Saints.

They will need to contend with a formidable defense that just shut down the Bucs, but the Dolphins offense has been improved in recent weeks with 24.5 points per game scored over the win streak, and they should find a way to exploit New Orleans’ injury problems.

Under 37.5 (-110)

Under 37.5 looked like a good bet before it was revealed that the Saints would be without a litany of key players.

Their chances of racking up over 16.5 points – their current prop target – do not look great with Book under center and tight end Juwan Johnson also missing.

Yet, the Saints defense was terrific against Tampa Bay last weekend and should make life very difficult for the Dolphins on Monday night.

SEE ALSO: All picks and odds. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Dolphins-Saints picks made 12/24/2021 at 6:50 a.m. ET.