NFL betting tips: Free betting tips and odds for Sunday's NFL, including New Orleans at Miami in London

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Sun October 01, 2017 · 7y ago

David John is expecting a seriously improved performance from Miami when they take on New Orleans in London.

New Orleans at Miami (1430BST Wembley, BBC2)

Wembley fans will be hoping for a bit more entertainment value than last week after Jacksonville routed Baltimore in game that was done as a contest bar the shouting by half-time.

There is the potential for some fireworks as quarterbacks Drew Brees and Jay Cutler take to the field but the latter and his Miami team-mates certainly have something to prove having tanked at a previously dreadful New York Jets on their latest outing.

The Dolphins were desperate for three scoreless quarters before managing a consolation touchdown when the game was well out of reach, even missing the extra-point to add insult to injury in a miserable 20-6 reverse.

Head coach Adam Gase did not pull any punches in his withering assessment of his misfiring offense: "I am tired of watching it for two years," he said.

"It is just garbage and has not worked so I will find the guys that want to do it right and they will play."

Gase has built a reputation on the offensive side of the ball and last week’s game will have not made for comfortable viewing but I don’t see any sweeping changes in personnel despite his threat in the heat of the moment.

Cutler, running back Jay Ajayi (slightly troubled by a knee issue), tight end Julius Thomas and wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker are all high-level performers and the onus will be on them to take responsibility and get their season back on track.

Offensive co-ordinator Clyde Christensen shouldered some of the blame too and added: "I expect to see a team rebound. We were embarrassed last week and will come back with a vengeance."

The defensive side of the ball was not much better as they made veteran Jets quarterback Josh McCown look like a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame so a united response in all phases of the game is required if Miami’s season is not going to begin to unravel.

If McCown can do what he did to this pass defense and no serious improvement is forthcoming then it is going to be a very long afternoon up against one of the modern greats in Brees.

The Saints recovered from a couple of poor performances themselves against Minnesota and New England with a convincing victory on the road at divisional rivals Carolina with Brees solid and a much-improved effort from a previously victimised pass defense to come up with three interceptions.

That was much more like the play-making form the unit had shown in the pre-season and was the sort of performance that could make Cutler feel nervous as he gets back up to speed with his new team after coming out of a brief retirement in the summer.

Most of the money in the build-up has been on the favoured Saints at odds-on and to give up three points on the spread as they are well capable of putting up points quickly with the ageless Brees pulling the strings.

However, I would be surprised if Gase and his coaching staff did not get a really positive response from the Dolphins it what is just their third game of the season after a week one outing was postponed and they are worth a small punt on the money line to prevail and move to a reasonably healthy 2-1 record.

Prediction: New Orleans 17-21 Miami

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Whilst Miami try to turn things around in London, Baltimore have made the long journey back in the opposite direction feeling very sorry for themselves following that humiliating performance against the Jaguars.

There is nothing like a game against arch AFC North rivals Pittsburgh to help get re-focused though and it will be live on Sky Sports from 1800BST.

Things went wrong very quickly for the Ravens as they were man-handled on offense by the Jaguars with quarterback Joe Flacco throwing for a putrid 28 yards and two intercptions, eventually being benched in favour of Ryan Mallett.

It was not much better on the other side of the ball for them either as a defense that had forced 10 takeaways in the first two weeks allowed the decidedly iffy Blake Bortles to toss four touchdown passes on the way to giving up 410 yards of offense.

"The biggest thing for me is intensity,” said a forlorn Baltimore defensive co-ordinator Dean Pees.

"I’d be shocked if we didn’t have it this week against these guys," he added ahead of what remains one of the NFL’s best rivalries.

The Steelers are also on a recovery mission having slipped to an overtime loss in Chicago so two heavyweights clashing in Maryland with plenty at stake should make for fascinating viewing.

The bet I like is for Ravens running back Alex Collins to find the end zone at some stage following a strong finish to the Jacksonville game which saw him rush for 82 yards on nine carries.

A lot of it was in garbage time with little on the line but he has caught the eye of his coaches already this season with both a sound preparation and work ethic so could well earn some extra carries in this game from his spot at number three on the depth chart.

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