First Place AFC East Miami Dolphins Heat Up Rivalry Against Bills On Sunday
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It has been a while. The last time the Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills In South Florida was 2018.
There are 3 starters left from that Miami team, Xavian Howard, Devante Parker and Jesse Davis. And the last time these 2 teams played, Buffalo scored 56 points and won by 30.
That was last season, when the Bills dominated both games, but this Dolphins team looks to reverse that trend and has a legitimate chance to do so.
After a solid road performance in New England, in which the Dolphins won the turnover battle, the red zone battle and committed less penalties than the Patriots, Dolphins fans have good reason to be optimistic.
The 17-16 week 1 win in the division and on the road sets this up a big early season game against Buffalo.
A win and the Dolphins are 2-0 in the division and overall, and get an early 2 games lead on Buffalo, and either the Jets or Patriots, who play each other this week. But perhaps the biggest part of a win would be the confidence level of the team. With a win, combined with last season, the Dolphins will have won 12 of their last 18 games, a playoff pace.
Here are the quick hits looking ahead to the game against the Bills:
The Dolphins defense has forced at least 1 turnover in 23 consecutive games, the longest NFL streak since New England, 2011-2013, per @Wingfieldnfl twitter.
Raekwon Davis hurt his knee against New England and is out Sunday. He's on IR and will miss at least 3 weeks.
The Dolphins bolstered the defensive line in the offseason adding John Jenkins and Adam Butler. They'll play big roles moving forward with Davis out.
Who needs training camp? Not Devante Parker, who looked like his old self in week 1.
Jaylen Waddle did need camp. The rookie got a lot of action with veterans injured and greatly benefited it. The Dolphins, 1st draft choice had an excellent NFL debut.
After missing time in COVID protocol, left tackle Austin Jackson was activated, but Liam Eichenberg played his position in week 1. Look for Jackson to be a factor against Buffalo. Jackson said being vaccinated helped him and he feels strong.
Coach Brian Flores is now 3-2 against his former boss Bill Belichick.
Will Will Fuller finally play his 1st game as a Dolphin? He's expected to. Receiver Will Fuller missed all of training camp and preseason with an injury and then had to finish up a suspension from last season, and missed last week's game.
It's all about winning, not individuals. Last week, the Dolphns used their tight ends to block, matching up with the Patriots. So Mike Gesicki wasn't a big factor. That won't be a trend, look for 88 this week.
Back in the day under legendary coach Don Shula, the Dolphins got off to good starts to the season and dominated at home in September. This game presents a chance to do both of things.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law.
Thanks to big plays by the defense last week the fact that the Dolphins didn't have the ball all that much did not cost them. With Josh Allen at quarterback for the bills, that likely won't be the case this week. Look for more possession time by the offense.