The Miami Dolphins are eagerly hoping to see their team take the field at full strength in Week 2. Miami, who is facing a critical matchup in the AFC East for the second consecutive week, will need a win in order to prevent an early season tailspin that may prove to be too daunting for this young team to recover from. Certainly things won’t be as bad as they were last season when the team started 0-7 — but the Dolphins weren’t expected to compete last season. They’re expecting to compete now, which means a second consecutive divisional loss must be avoided at all costs.
Miami now knows ahead of the Week 2 showdown against the Buffalo Bills that their rival to the North won’t be so lucky to see their team at full strength. The Bills’ head coach, Sean McDermott, revealed this morning that the team will face Miami in Week 2 without two of their starting linebackers: Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano.
Heading into their game against the #Dolphins, the #Bills are down two LBs — Matt Milano (hamstring) and Tremaine Edmunds (shoulder). Both are out for Sunday, per coach Sean McDermott.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 18, 2020
This is a heavy-hitting loss for Buffalo, Edmunds and Milano are terrific defenders and their athleticism and range posed unique challenges for the Dolphins in both run fits and in pass coverage. Without this dynamic duo on the second level, there should be no excuse for Miami to not find more success against Buffalo than the team had in Week 1 against New England.
The question now for Miami is how does the game plan pivot with the advance knowledge that both Edmunds and Milano will miss the game? Miami’s play action and RPO concepts should get more of a look and the Dolphins would be wise to attempt to put Buffalo’s replacement linebackers in conflict whenever possible. We’ll see the game plan shortly — Miami and Buffalo kick off from Hard Rock Stadium at 1PM EST on Sunday afternoon. It’s too early in the season to call it a “must win” game, but that’s effectively what it is for Miami’s playoff hopes. Any bit of luck can help, even if it is avoiding Buffalo’s best linebackers in Week 2.