New Orleans Saints poised to fly past tired Miami Dolphins

What a long, strange trip this season has been for the Miami Dolphins, who still haven’t played a home game.

After luring quarterback Jay Cutler out of retirement in August to replace injured starter Ryan Tannehill, Miami had its season opener canceled at Hard Rock Stadium because of Hurricane Irma.

Veteran linebacker Lawrence Timmons then went AWOL, missing Miami’s season-opening 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers before serving a one-game suspension.

The entire Dolphins team essentially went AWOL in Sunday’s lifeless 20-6 loss to the New York Jets, barely avoiding a shutout by scoring on the game’s final play.

Miami will play its third straight game away from home to start the season Sunday in London, where it’s a 3-point underdog to the New Orleans Saints.

CG Technology sports book vice president Matt Holt said early sharp action moved the line from Saints minus-1½ to minus-3, primarily because the Jets-lagged Dolphins have been on the road since their Aug. 17 preseason home game.

“They looked tired last week (against New York),” Holt said. “Now, after all the travel, they’re going to London.”

New Orleans had the misfortune of opening their season against the Vikings on the road with a healthy Sam Bradford at quarterback, then hosted a well-rested Patriots team coming off an embarrassing season-opening loss to the Chiefs.

The Saints bounced back with a 34-13 road win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in which their much-maligned defense played decent. The seemingly ageless Drew Brees still is an elite quarterback, completing 69 percent of his passes this season for 867 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.

He should feast on a Dolphins pass defense that has been porous and help New Orleans even its record at 2-2 and cover the small number.

Four more plays for Week 4 (home team in CAPS):

BRONCOS (-3) over Raiders: Both teams are coming off outright losses as road favorites, but Denver is in a much better spot to bounce back at home, where it’s 35-7 straight up after a loss. The Broncos have dominated the series in recent years, winning nine of the last 11 meetings while going 8-2-1 ATS. Denver’s defense is ranked fourth in the league and first in run defense and should be able to keep Derek Carr and Co. in check.

Jaguars (-3) over JETS: Jacksonville earned its second dominant win of the season in a 44-7 romp over the Ravens in London. New York quarterback Josh McCown is coming off only his third win in 25 starts and will revert back to his prior form against the Jaguars’ top-ranked pass defense. Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles has temporarily silenced his critics by throwing for six TDs and two interceptions this season.

CHARGERS (-2) over Eagles: Los Angeles is playing its third straight home game and has too much talent not to finally pull out a win after losing 10 of its last 19 games by a touchdown or less. Philadelphia is coming off a 27-24 home win over the Giants in which it blew a 14-0 lead and needed a 61-yard field goal to escape. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will be pressured by a Chargers defense led by linebackers Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa, who have combined for 7½ sacks.

FALCONS (-8) over Bills: Atlanta’s explosive offense has averaged 29 points but still hasn’t clicked on all cylinders yet. The Bills simply won’t be able to keep up with the Falcons.

Last week: 3-2 against the spread

Season: 7-8

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.