Game Preview: Bills look for revenge vs Dolphins in Week 15

The Bills will take on the Dolphins on Saturday night for the second time this season, having lost their first meeting with Miami 21 to 19 in South Florida in September. The Florida heat played a big role in the loss for Buffalo, but this time around, the Bills seek to clinch a playoff spot with a win against Miami in below-freezing temps with snow in the forecast.

All week, the Dolphins have been downplaying the importance of the weather for Saturday night’s showdown in Western New York. QB Tua Tagovailoa was quoted as saying “It snows in Alabama, guys,” while head coach Mike McDaniel was spotted at practice this week wearing a shirt that said “I wish it were colder.” A big story line in this one will be if the warm weather Miami team can handle the conditions that will be gusting in from Lake Erie. So far, the Dolphins have chosen mind over matter regarding the weather, and we’ll see how that plays out.

Buffalo is currently on a four-game winning streak while the Dolphins are on a two-game losing streak (49ers and Chargers). The Bills are first in the AFC East with their record of 10-3, and with a win against the Dolphins (8-5), it would almost certainly guarantee the Bills winning the AFC East for the third year in a row. A Bills win would mean that Buffalo would have to lose their last three games and Miami would have to win their last three games for Miami to take the division. That’s not totally out of the question, but Buffalo has been finding ways to win as of late.

Matchups to watch

One thing to watch for on Saturday night is the Bills offensive line against the Dolphins defensive line. The Bills o-line has not played up to what most have expected this season and now they will be without starting right guard Ryan Bates on Saturday. They’ll be going against a Dolphins d-line which features new addition DE Bradley Chubb, DE Melvin Ingram who has given the Bills fits, and budding stars DT Christian Wilkins and EDGE Jalen Phillips. Their d-line unit is one of their stronger positions. Phillips’ PFF pass rush grade of 85.4 ranks 6th in the NFL at the EDGE position. Meanwhile, Christian Wilkins’ PFF grade of 79.1 ranks 6th in the NFL at the DT position.

Opposite of that matchup is the Bills d-line against the Dolphins o-line. The Bills defense just lost star edge rusher Von Miller to an ACL tear which will impact the Bills in this game and further down the road. But on Saturday night, the Bills are looking at guys on the edge like Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham, AJ Epenesa, and Shaq Lawson to step up in a big way. Good news for the Bills is that DT Ed Oliver will be playing after dealing with a pectoral injury this week. If you’re the Bills, you’re hoping that this unit will make Tagovailoa uncomfortable enough to disrupt their passing game, which ranks first in the NFL in yards per attempt (8.3), and second in the NFL in total passing yards (3,804).

Next, the Bills secondary will have their hands full against the fastest receiver duo in the NFL. The defensive backs will need to be flying around. Tackling has been an issue with the Bills as of late and it will be crucial to not let their speedsters break away from tackle attempts. Jordan Poyer and Tre White didn’t play in the first matchup with the Dolphins in Week 3, and having them out there will be a huge boost to the defense (Bills are 9-0 with Jordan Poyer on the field this year).

Injury report

The injury report looks pretty good for the Bills this week considering all that they have dealt with recently. They are missing guard Ryan Bates and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, but they’ll have Matt Milano and Ed Oliver both on the field, which was a question mark at the beginning of the week.

For the Dolphins, they’ll have a couple reserve safeties missing the game on Saturday due to injury, while a few other contributors are questionable. If tackle Terron Armstead (13th ranked tackle according to PFF) is forced to sit, then they will have a big drop off at the tackle position. RB Jeff Wilson has played a key role for Miami over the last month since being traded, so that is another one to monitor. Check out the injury report below:

Bills: G Ryan Bates (OUT); DT Jordan Phillips (OUT)

Dolphins: S Elijah Campbell (OUT); S Eric Rowe (OUT); WR River Craycraft (Doubtful); T Terron Armstead (Questionable); QB Teddy Bridgewater (Quetionable); RB Jeff Wilson (Questionable).

Final thoughts

This game is big for both teams. It’s the second meeting between these two and it should be a fun game to watch. As Josh Allen said before the Jets game last week: “It’s tough to beat a team twice.” Josh Allen, Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills should take this game personally after losing in Week 3. Buffalo is looking to clinch a playoff spot for the fourth season in a row, which would be the second-longest streak in team history.