Tag: Bills Dolphins

What we learned from the Bills’ win over the Dolphins

What we learned from the #Bills’ win over the #Dolphins:

The Buffalo Bills (11-6) successfully ran the table into the end of the regular season to secure a playoff spot after a rough start that saw them at 6-6 and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

Five straight wins later, and they are the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and once more winners of the AFC East.

Buffalo’s start against Miami in the final game of the regular season was another ugly one that saw several turnovers in the first half.

After that, the Bills’ defense and depth players at positions on both sides of the ball stepped up, including an acrobatic heads-up touchdown by WR Trent Sherfield, a franchise record-long 95-yard punt return, and score by WR and return man Deonte Harty, and a game-sealing interception by S Taylor Rapp.

With that, here are three things we learned from Sunday’s win over the Dolphins:

Report card: Bills top Dolphins, 21-14

Report card: #Bills top #Dolphins, 21-14:

The 2023 NFL regular season has concluded and the Bills completed an eventful five-game winning streak to enter the playoffs with a fourth straight AFC East crown and the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Here is the BillsWire’s Week 18 report card for the Buffalo Bills (11-6) following the team’s 21-14 win over the Miami Dolphins (11-6):

How can the Bills stop the Dolphins’ ridiculous offense?

The Miami Dolphins’ offense is an unstoppable juggernaut that the Buffalo Bills must try to stop. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar detail how the Bills can pull it off.

The Buffalo Bills are coming off a 37-3 waxing of the Washington Commanders in which they became the first NFL team since the 1985 Dallas Cowboys to put up nine sacks and four interceptions in a single game.

But by Monday morning, head coach Sean McDermott had thrown those good feelings right out the window, and for good reason. Buffalo must now deal with a Miami Dolphins offense that set all kinds of records in its preposterous 70-20 thrashing of the Denver Broncos.

So, as well as McDermott’s defense is playing, there’s no time for pats on the back.

“It gets shorter and shorter or smaller and smaller, that window, right? And in particular, when you got a team that put up 70 points, I don’t think I’ve seen that in my NFL career the entire time,” McDermott said Monday morning. “So they’re very explosive,”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys talked at length about the challenges presented by Miami’s offense, and how the Bills can best deal with them.

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You can watch this week’s entire “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” featuring all of Week 4’s biggest matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Now, let’s get into how the Bills can ostensibly stop this bullet train.

Bills’ Josh Allen, Dolphins’ Christian Wilkins exchange praise: ‘That’s my guy, I love Josh’

#Bills’ Josh Allen, #Dolphins’ Christian Wilkins exchange praise: ‘That’s my guy. I love Josh’

The Bills square off in NFL Week 4 against a familiar foe, the Miami Dolphins.

Mike McDaniel’s squad comes to Orchard Park fresh off a near-record 70-point performance against the Broncos.

Unlike the Broncos, Buffalo has one of the top defenses in the league.

And on the other side of the ball, QB Josh Allen and company will face the challenge of Miami’s defense.

“We understand that their their defense is playing at a high level as well too, so we got to put in the work this week have a great week of uh preparation and go out there and try to execute on Sunday,” Allen said ahead of the matchup.

The Bills offense will square off against another familiar foe in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who they faced previously when he was in Denver.

“I think that he’s going to force us to be methodical,” Allen added of Fangio. “The shots down the field aren’t always there so again taking what’s given and then a big emphasis is the red zone, you know he’s always been very good in the league when he gets inside the 20 of making sure his defense is locked down kind of a ‘bend don’t break’ mentality.”

Buffalo is 9-2 against Miami including the postseason during Allen’s time under center and Buffalo has not lost to them at home during that time. The QB has averaged 37.4 total points in those games.

They’ll need that productivity on offense, as Miami is averaging a league-best 43.3 points per contest, and has the most hards (1,651) with the second-most points (130) to start a season in NFL history. Their 8.4 yards-per-play average is the most through three games in the Super Bowl era.

One of Allen’s opponents in the game, with whom he’s shared some in-game competitive moments, is Dolphins DT Christian Wilkens.

On Monday Wilkins made some headlines with high praise for Allen.

“[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media],” Wilkins said to the media. “We’re cool, we’re tight. But no, he’s a heck of a competitor. I love playing against him. He definitely brings the best out of you as a defense, as an individual.”

While the 6’4 310 lb defensive tackle might have surprised with the comments, he didn’t stop there.

“His resume speaks for itself. But definitely a heck of a player and we’re going to have to be on it this week as a defense and as a team because they’re a really good team and they play tough and we know them, they know us. There’s no secrets. Just have to go out there and ball, compete, and may the best man win.”

Allen responded to his opponent’s comments during a press session Wednesday.

“I do love playing against him,” Allen said. “In terms of tightness, we don’t really talk all that much. But I do respect his game… We do get a little chippy, but that’s a part of the game… When you’re playing against guys you can chirp with and then show respect after the game, that’s what football is all about. To go against individual rivals and have that type of vibe with some of the guys, it makes you want to get out of your seat but at the same time, stay as level as possible and focus what I need to focus on.”

In the Bills 34-31 home win over Miami in the wild-card round of last year’s playoffs saw the two players got into it after Allen threw an interception downfield, and Bills center Mitch Morse ran over to not only break it up, but he put Wilkins on the ground.

The Dolphins will be facing a revamped Bills offensive line this time around, one that is making headlines for its success in warding off defenders.

If Allen can continue to execute and not turn the ball over, the Buffalo offense might get the best of the Dolphins’ defense on Sunday.

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NFL Next Gen Stats: Bills’ pass-rush vs. Commanders among best since 2018

NFL Next Gen Stats: #Bills’ pass-rush vs. #Commanders among best since 2018 (via @TejasVemparala):

The Buffalo Bills defense, if you don’t know, is very, very good.

Many have been written highlighting the Bills’ domination on the defensive side of the ball against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. And now, NFL’s Next Gen Stats is also supporting that with a look at the pass rush generated by Buffalo’s defense on Washington quarterback Sam Howell.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, when Howell dropped back 39 times during the game, the Bills pressured him 27 times. That is the 2nd-highest pressure rate in a game in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2018):

The Bills defensive line was phenomenal, generating pressure on Howell to not only sack him but have him throw four interceptions during the game as well.

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who NFL Next Gen Stats has showcased before as an excellent pass rusher, led Buffalo defenders with seven QB pressures, with edge rusher Shaq Lawson right behind with six.

Multiple edge rushers including A.J. Epenesa, who had a pick six against the Commanders, Leonard Floyd who converted the pressures to multiple sacks, Greg Rousseau, and Daquan Jones all had five QB pressures.

In total, seven Bills defenders had four or more QB pressures against a Commanders offensive line that was not expected to be good.

Nevertheless, the quarterback pressure Howell faced would suffocate any quarterback. The Bills front four will look to continue to generate pressure against the division leading Miami Dolphins’ offensive line in Week 4.

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Bills’ Josh Allen says elbow injury changed things ‘mechanically’ for him

#Bills’ Josh Allen says elbow injury changed things ‘mechanically’ for him:

As the Bills season concluded over the weekend, the team began the process of looking back on everything they overcame this year as well as how to improve.

One of the challenges for their offense lay in the right elbow of quarterback Josh Allen, who suffered an ulnar collateral ligament injury.

It happened on the last offensive drive during an uncharacteristic Week 9 loss to the Jets in New Jersey that added insult to injury.

The injury required him to alter his mechanics, and according to him it wasn’t until two weeks ago he was able to get back to his usual throwing motion.

The good news is that there appear to be no plans for offseason surgery. The QB said Monday that “rest and recovery is gonna be really good for it.”

After the Bills’ second-round playoff exit in a 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Allen was asked about the effect the injury had on him. 

“I mean, there was a period, obviously, right after for a few weeks, where it was pretty bothersome, but again, it didn’t affect me all that much,” Allen said. “Just kind of felt like maybe I was trying to throw it a little differently mechanically, had to change a few things and got away a little bit from how I’m used to throwing the ball. That’s just kind of a byproduct of that. But again, it didn’t affect me too much.”

Allen’s injury occurred on a play where a Jets defensive lineman got the best of backup right tackle David Queensberry, who was filling in for starting tackle Spencer Brown. The offensive line has been scrutinized at times in recent years for their protection of Allen as well as opening things up for the running game.

While he did not miss playing time following the Jets game because of the banged-up elbow, he was listed on the Bills injury report for the remainder of the regular season. It wasn’t until the playoffs that he felt like himself as a passer, he said.

“I think, really, two weeks ago is when I kind of felt like I got back to mechanically what I like,” Allen said when asked later about the specific impact of adjusting his mechanics. “Again, being the rotational thrower, it’s very kind of elbow prevalent, and maybe I got a little bit to more of a linear-type deal ’cause I just couldn’t really use all that much force and kind of flicking it out there, but, again, just adapting.”

On one hand, it’s good news to hear that surgery might not be required and that the injury can be rested and rehabilitated.

On the other hand, Allen’s answering the question as to whether it affected his performance during the season or not may have raised other questions about why the team didn’t advance and about the offense.

Among those questions might be the playcalling by first-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, as well as questions about QB coach Joe Brady and the performance and depth of the offensive line.

Dorsey has a tough act to follow in Brian Daboll, who is now the Giants head coach. Dorsey didn’t turn heads in his first full season in the new role. Allen appeared to look downfield for knockout-punch big plays instead of going to open receivers for shorter yardage.

While head coach Sean McDermott thew support behind Dorsey this week, noting there is a first-year learning curve for anyone, including the OC, Allen also mentioned in his press conference he doesn’t question the plays Dorsey calls.

When interviewing for the position prior to the season, the Bills brass notably looked at wide receivers coaches before going with Dorsey. Given some of his playcalling and overall game plans, but especially their results, the front office and coaching staff will need to give a close examination in assessing that shift in the offense. 

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Von Miller: ‘Proud to be a Buffalo Bill’ after resilient 2022 season

Von Miller: ‘Proud to be a Buffalo Bill’ after resilient 2022 season

As the Bills 2022 NFL season has come to a close, there will be plenty of opportunity for reflection and putting things under the microscope.

and while the team will look for ways to improve for different results and more success in 2023, they might also find something else… Pride.

Von Miller did.

“It was so many different things that made me feel proud to be a Buffalo Bill and made me feel proud to be a part of this community,” Miller said to the press this week. “So this adversity that was presented, I’ve always been a fan of adversity, reveals character and we have some high character guys in this locker room. Not only in a locker room, but in the front office in this community. And it’s just an honor and a privilege to be associated with the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park and the city of Buffalo.”

The Bills season concluded in an underwhelming loss to a now AFC Championship game-bound Cincy squad on Sunday in Orchard Park, which certainly was not the ending the team and its fans wanted.

While the team fell short of their goal of a Super Bowl win this season, there is a silver lining. They overcame a lot and turned in a solid outcome despite adversities and obstacles.

The tragic loss of tight end Dawson Knox’s brother,

More instances followed, such as the off-field matters that resulted in the loss of a player and sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft meant to be a long-term game-impacting special teams solution, the team playing three road games in 12 days, plus having one of their home games relocated one week, and getting stuck in Chicago on Christmas Eve during another, both due to weather. Not to mention challenges presented by issues with playcalling and overall performance.

And then there were injuries.

The team was already without star corner Tre White for about half the season but also saw an elbow injury hinder QB Josh Allen up until their final two games. And then there were the season-ending injuries to defensive staple and NFL star safety Micah Hyde, as well as fellow league-wide star and the Bills’ big free-agency acquisition, OLB Von Miller.

And of course, the near-fatal heart attack on the field for Damar Hamlin that required game cancellation and multiple resuscitations after a square hit. 

None of that was lost on Hyde, who echoed Miller’s sentiments as well.

“The weather issues, the injuries, just a lot of things that happened this year and to see these guys really keep fighting, keep coming to work, keep being positive, keep getting up in the morning, which is hard to do when the weather’s bad, it’s snowing,” the Bills safety said. “To see all that, I learned a lot about my teammates and I’m very, very proud of the players, the coaches, this organization.”

While each injury brought some bitter taste to a season that fell short of the sweetness a Super Bowl victory would have, there is still a silver lining.

Most professional sports teams do not face nearly as many adversities in a season.

Not to mention, most sports franchises haven’t been to and lost four consecutive championship games in the past, nor were many a Super Bowl favorite this year. But the Bills were.

And through it all, they endured and overcame to finish with a 13-3 record in the regular season, winning the AFC East for the third consecutive year and then advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

It won’t be enough for a team with championship aspirations but still speaks to how Buffalo battled throughout the season.

“There are no moral victories,” Miller added. “But when you look at what this team went through, what this community went through … the resiliency … that’s what stands out … I feel honored and privileged to be associated with the Buffalo Bills.”

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Bills’ Josh Allen on Morse defending him: ‘I love him’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on Morse defending him: ‘I love him’

The Bills topped the Dolphins 34-31 in Orchard Park during the NFL’s wild-card playoff weekend.

While there was plenty of scoring that incited Highmark Stadium fireworks in the sky above, there were some explosive moments on the field as well.

Including a skirmish between the Bills offense and Dolphins defense.

With around 6 minutes left in the first half. Allen threw a deep pass to the end zone for which wide receiver John Brown was the target. The ball was intercepted by Miami corner Xavien Howard who would run the takeaway back 49 yards.

During the run back, Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins had a late hit when he shoved Allen and then tried to block him from making any defensive play on the return. Allen didn’t back down, pushing back then going at him again in a shoving match until Bills center Mitch Morse came over to protect his QB.

Yellow flags were thrown after a scrum pile of Bills and Dolphins players converged around them, and Wilkins and Morse were each given penalties that offset one another.

“That’s your guy, that’s your quarterback,” Morse said. “You just want to be there for him.”

Morse’s fervor in defending his QB was such that it even got some good humor from his Wife.

The way the fired-up Morse came to his defense touched his quarterback’s heart as well, and he voiced his appreciation when he was asked if he ever sees Morse that heated.

“No I don’t, you don’t really see that,” Allen said after the game to the media. “But I love him, I really do.”

When he was also asked by the media if he’d ever been that heated before he said “No,” but also demonstrated veteran leadership and spoke about Wilkins and an interaction they shared after the game while putting the matter to rest.

“Let’s not make it anything bigger than it was,” Morse said. “We talked afterwards actually. I have a lot of respect for the way he plays. He is a competitive guy. Tempers flare in this game. You know, we had our moment, it was mitigated and we were able to continue playing. In the moment, you lose consciousness for a little bit. I mean, that’s your guy. That’s your quarterback. You just want to be there for him. It escalated like you saw, but I’m not going to make it too big of a thing.”

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Bills’ Sean McDermott, Josh Allen speak on turnovers: ‘You got to move on’

#Bills’ Sean McDermott, Josh Allen speak on turnovers: ‘You got to move on’

While the Buffalo Bills did win their opening-round matchup with the Miami Dolphins, 34-31, at Highmark Stadium, it was not smooth sailing for most of the day. 

Rather, a turnover issue we’ve seen throughout 2022 made an appearance. 

Bills quarterback Josh Allen went 23/39 with 352 yards and three touchdowns passing on the day. It was his third career playoff game with at least three passing touchdowns and 300+ yards, which was good for a Bills franchise record.

Yet another type of history was made as well.

Allen threw two interceptions in the second quarter and lost a fumble, however, which the Dolphins collectively converted into 18 total points. The turnover scores all happened during a window between the sixth minute of the second quarter and the first minute of the third quarter.

It was the first time any Bills team in the history of the franchise won a postseason contest despite having more turnovers (3-2) than their opponent. In the past when Buffalo had more turnovers, those games would end in a loss (0-13.)

Buffalo was up 17-0 on Miami at the start of the second quarter, when the Dolphins would score on four possessions before Buffalo put more points on the board. That scoring would continue, resulting in a close finish to a game in which Buffalo had previously built a sizeable lead.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke after the game about the impact those turnovers had.

“I just think overall we’ve got to do a better job at that point, you know, up 17, I think it was 17-zip, and we turned the ball over, so at the end of the day, you turn the ball over, you die, normally, a pretty quick death,” McDermott said during his media session. “I think we had three turnovers, one for a score and then we had the big punt return mixed in there as well, so not very good complementary football.”

Allen led the league in turnovers (19) during the regular season, including a three-turnover game against Minnesota, but his prior numbers in the postseason going into the game included only one interception and one lost fumble.

“The turnovers, they hurt us,” Allen said during the postgame press conference. “Really let them back in the game. Up 17-0 with chances and I give them the ball two times and give them a touchdown, it’s just things you can’t do.”

Whether the turnover plays were a lingering focus or not the rest of the way was another matter, however.

“You can’t focus on that,” Allen added. “The play happened. You gotta move on. I think having the leadership in that offense, whether it be Stef or Mitch or Dion or Rodger, just coming up to me and saying, ‘Forget it, we gotta go.’ And just understanding you can’t let your last play dictate your next play. So, again, gotta be better in those situations, but we were able to find a way.”

The Dolphins made defensive adjustments coming out of the half, but the Bills also adjusted and put up 31 points. Still, Allen sees an opportunity to clean up their play.

“I thought we had some good answers, some really good plays, and, again, some not-so-great ones that we gotta clean up, and that’s on my shoulders.”

The Bills win moves them forward and they’ll next host the Cincinnati Bengals at home for the division-round matchup. For the Bills, winning and moving forward is the focus.

“All that matters is surviving and advancing,” Allen continued. “Doesn’t matter how we win, it’s if we win, and I’m proud of our guys for playing the way they did.”

Bills center and team captain Mitch Morse spoke to both the need to improve while recognizing the Bills accountability.

“I think the biggest thing … is this next week, yes, we did end up with the win and in this league that’s hard, especially in the playoffs,” Morse said. “But we know we need to mitigate those mistakes as much as possible. I thought this team did a very good job not pointing fingers.”

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Bills vs. Dolphins: 3 key matchups in Wild Card round

#Bills vs. #Dolphins: 3 key matchups in Wild Card round:

The Buffalo Bills and their fans will welcome back the Miami Dolphins to Orchard Park in this Sunday’s NFL Wild Card round.

Just as Bills QB Josh Allen predicted after Buffalo bested Miami 32-29 at home in Week 15, the two teams will meet in the playoffs. It will be the third matchup between the clubs this year, and the first without Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins floundered into the postseason like a fish out of water, losing five of their last six games and their QB1 to injury along the way.

Here are three key matchups to watch out for during round three between the Bills and Dolphins on Sunday: