Oddsmakers Say Miami Dolphins Perhaps Worst NFL Team in History

Posted on: September 22, 2019, 03:00h. 

Last updated on: September 20, 2019, 02:01h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
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The Miami Dolphins are bad. Every National Football League (NFL) fan knows that, and oddsmakers in Las Vegas and across the country say setting point spreads on the Fins is tough because the team isn’t even trying to win.

Miami Dolphins NFL odds sports betting
The Miami Dolphins are looking to next year, but oddsmakers still have to deal with them this season. (Image: Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Miami opened the season at home, losing to the Baltimore Ravens, 59-10. The lopsided loss delivered a New Jersey bettor a whopping $600,000 on a $30,000 wager. The bet was made at the PointsBet book, where bettors win (and lose) 1x their bet per point away from the spread.

The Dolphins followed up their embarrassing loss with an equally humiliating 43-0 shutout at home against the New England Patriots.

Now they go on the road to Dallas, where they’re more than three touchdown underdogs. At Station Casinos in Las Vegas, they’re being spotted 30.5 points against the 2-0 Cowboys.

“This is unprecedented. Teams have been bad before, but this is different,” Caesars Sportsbook Director Jeff Davis told ESPN. “They’re bad and not caring. Everyone wants out. It’s kind of crazy.”

Through two games, the Dolphins have been outscored 102-10. Miami and Dallas kicks off today at 1 pm ET. They will try QB Josh Rosen under center after veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed just one touchdown against four interceptions in games one and two.

Fish Out of Water

After their defeat at the hands of the Pats, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith opined, “This might be the worst football team in the NFL I’ve ever seen. They are atrocious.”

The Westgate SuperBook confirmed it took six small bets on the Dolphins at 20,000/1 to win Super Bowl 54. One Twitter user opined those wagers should be described as “donations.” At that line, a meager $5 bet and a Dolphins championship would net $1,000.

Even longer odds can be found. FanDuel in Pennsylvania is offering 40,000/1.

There’s nothing you can do. You just make high numbers,” the SuperBook’s Ed Salmons said. “We wanted to offer fair odds on a team that is not trying to win.”

While “not trying to win” might seem like an unfair comment, it’s not. Dolphins GM Chris Grier basically admitted the team isn’t focused on this season.

“No one likes losing. We’ve talked about building a team that’s going to win and compete for championships for a long time instead of being in this one year, and then you fall back for two or three,” Grier said this week.

0-16 Odds

Sportsbooks are taking bets on the chances that the Miami Dolphins go an imperfect 0-16. The 2017 Cleveland Browns and the 2008 Detroit Lions are the only two winless teams in a 16-game schedule, but others playing fewer games also have gone winless in an entire NFL regular season.

FanDuel has 0-16 odds at Yes +400, No -600. The line implies there’s hope for a Dolphins win, as winning at least a game remains the favorite. That will, of course, change should Miami continue their losing ways.

One bettor got in on the winless action early. After FanDuel opened the line following the Dolphins’ week one loss, a gambler wagered $3,400 on 30/1 (+3000) that the team would go 0-16. The bet would net $102,000.

The sportsbook drastically shortened the line following the bet and Dolphins’ week two shame.