Commanders vs. Dolphins prediction, pick, odds for NFL Preseason Week 2 game, Sat. 8/17

Chris Baker's Commanders vs. Dolphins Preview

Washington Commanders Betting Preview: Defense Likely To Struggle

The Commanders QB room is respectable with veteran names like Marcus Mariota and Jeff Driskel mixed in with some young talent in Daniels and Sam Hartman.

Hartman and Driskel led the Commanders in snaps and passing yardage in their first preseason game last week. Hartman and Mariota are out for this game, so we should expect the trio of Daniels, Driskel and the newly signed Trace McSorley.

The Commanders should be playing all of their starters for a few drives on Saturday. The Commanders offense has respectable talent up and down the depth chart at the skill positions. The WRs room of Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus and Byron Pringle should give the Washington offense an opportunity to succeed here.

The Commanders also feature Brian Robinson Jr, Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez in the backfield.

I’d expect Daniels to have some success during his reps but it’s hard to get too excited about the duo of Driskel and Trace McSorley managing the rest of the game. Most of the Dolphins' injuries right now or are on the defensive side of the ball so Daniels shouldn’t be going up against the entire first-team defense.

Ultimately, I would probably be looking to fade the Commanders once Daniels leaves the field on the live line.

Miami Dolphins Betting Preview: Offense Can Have A Field Day

The Commanders brought in a ton of new players on defense, which is a unit that doesn't have much experience playing together yet. I’d expect them to struggle with this motion-heavy Dolphins offense.

When Tua Tagovailoa and the rest of Miami's starters leave the field, we should see average QB play in Skylar Thompson and Mike White. Both Dolphins QBs have more big-game NFL experience than most second or third-string QBs, so I’d expect them to have some success here against a weaker Commanders defense.

I think that  Thompson and White have a significant edge over Driskel and McSorley. That means there will likely be value in betting on the Dolphins live once we get the transition to backups at some point in the first half.

How to Watch Commanders vs. Dolphins Start Time, Channel, Location

Commanders vs. Dolphins will be available to stream on NFL+. Commanders-Dolphins is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

My Commanders vs. Dolphins Prediction

I like the Dolphins -4.5 for the game, but I think betting their spread live will be the best way to attack this game. Once the starters are out, I'm looking to back Miami with Thompson and White at quarterback against the inferior Washington QBs.

Again, the best time to bet Miami live will be when the starters are out of the game, so keep an eye on when Thompson or White takes over for the Dolphins and when Daniels exits the game for Washington.

Commanders vs. Dolphins Pick

Pick: Dolphins -4.5