Binning Carolina performance wise; NFL.

CAROLINA and Miami, both with 4-5 records, face a pivotal NFL clash tonight, one that could catapult them in opposite directions, writes Simon Milham.

The Dolphins will play four of their next five games on the road - all against teams who have conceded more points than they have scored - while the Panthers' final four games are against New England, Minnesota, New York Giants and New Orleans, who are a combined 28-8. The respective AFC East and NFC South title holders may still have a pulse should they lose, but they will probably have to win all their remaining six games to reach the play-offs.

Miami are considered underdogs by the layers, which is understandable since they eked out a lastminute victory against improving Tampa Bay on the back of five field goals and one offensive touchdown on Sunday.

But this looks a good match-up for the Dolphins, who are averaging 156 rushing yards per game (fourth best in the NFL), but conceding only 97ypg (seventh) on the ground. Only the Jets and Titans run the ball better than Carolina, but their defence ranks 25th at stopping the run, conceding 128ypg at an average of 4.6 yards per attempt.

Miami are averaging over 29 points per game since Chad Henne took over at quarterback from Chad Pennington. He is 4-2 as a starter, with the losses coming against New Orleans and New England - and those games were in the balance until late on. With so much at stake, it could be tight with few chances taken.

The Dolphins have every chance of causing a mild upset, and possibly the safest way of taking on the one-dimensional Panthers is to sell their performance at 51 with Sporting Index (win 25 points, touchdown 15pts, field goal 5pts, sack of opposing QB 5pts. You lose five points per missed kick and ten for each turnover).

Recommendation Sell Carolina performance 2pts at 51 Sporting Index