Bills, Dolphins meet on TSN in early measuring-stick game
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There are measuring-stick games in every NFL season, where the elements are in place for a team to learn a lot about itself based on the results.
Thursday night’s matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins is one of those games for two teams that have big aspirations and lots of questions to answer.
The Bills, winners of four consecutive AFC East Division titles but just one conference championship game appearance over that stretch, entered this year with more uncertainty on their roster than in any recent season.
That dynamic only grew when their outstanding slot corner Taron Johnson went out with a forearm injury on the first series of the season Sunday, joining linebacker Matt Milano as key Bills defenders who won’t be on the field Thursday night in Miami.
Johnson’s absence is believed to be shorter than that of Milano, who suffered a biceps injury in training camp that will keep him out for months. While the Bills defence managed to rise up without either of them in the second half of Sunday’s 34-28 win over Arizona, the Dolphins present an altogether different problem.
Miami, with quick-release quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and even quicker receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, presents a unique challenge. With their use of pre-snap movement and willingness to use skill players in ever-changing roles, the Dolphins can be a matchup nightmare. That’s where the loss of Johnson and Milano really hurts.
It’s also going to stress test the Bills new pair of starting safeties, Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin, who were both backups a year ago. The duo held their own against the Cardinals on Sunday, but any miscommunication against the Dolphins will be deadly.
Buffalo’s concerns on offence are less daunting for two reasons. For one, as long as quarterback Josh Allen stays healthy, this team is going to score. Secondly, the Bills are yet to suffer a significant injury on offence.
After years of depending on receiver Stefon Diggs in critical situations, this season’s “everyone eats” mantra, where the ball is spread more evenly among receivers, tight ends and running backs, remains under evaluation.
Buffalo put up 34 points and scored on four of six drives after halftime against the Cardinals. But they’ll face a better defence in Miami and an offence that’s capable of turning the game into a shootout.
The Dolphins have been to the playoffs in consecutive seasons under head coach Mike McDaniel, who recently signed a three-year contract extension. But along the way Miami has developed a reputation for beating subpar teams and losing to good ones.
Nothing illustrates that point better than their futility against the Bills.
The Dolphins have lost nine of 10 against Buffalo, the lone exception coming in September of 2022 in a game where the Bills lost several players to heat stroke and dehydration. The Bills still managed to dominate Miami everywhere but on the scoreboard, putting up 506 yards of offence to Miami’s 218.
So, the 21-19 home win wasn’t exactly a statement victory.
The Dolphins put up 29 and 31 points in their next two matchups with Buffalo that season in Orchard Park, N.Y, the latter coming in an AFC Wild Card game, but lost both.
Last season they visited the Bills on Oct. 1, coming off a 70-point output against Denver, and got beat by 20. The Bills then effectively ended their season on the final day of the regular season, stealing the division title with a win in Miami and forcing the Dolphins on the road for Wild Card weekend, where they lost in a freezer in Kansas City.
By different means, the Bills have ended Miami’s season two years in a row. Every time the Dolphins look ready to break through and join the NFL’s elite, the Bills put them in their place.
A convincing victory would change that narrative as Miami is about to face a winnable stretch of games against Seattle, Tennessee, New England, Indianapolis and Arizona, before meeting the Bills in Buffalo on Nov. 3.
The Bills, meanwhile, could use the confidence of a 2-0 start before a tough stretch that features the Jaguars, Ravens, Texans and Jets.
From either perspective, there’s more than just a Week 2 matchup on the line Thursday night in Miami.