Tag: Bills Dolphins

AFC East news: Dolphins moving on from LB Kyle Van Noy

Buffalo Bills AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins, are moving on from LB Kyle Van Noy.

Linebacker Kyle Van Noy, formerly of the New England Patriots, skipped town to Miami last offseason.

Now he’s soon going to be a former Dolphins player as well in a bit of a shocker.

According to Dolphins Wire on Tuesday, Miami will move on from the 29-year-old only one year into a four-year deal worth $51 million. Unless the Dolphins find a trade partner, Van Noy will be released per the report.

Playing in 14 games last season, Van Noy had solid numbers, including 69 tackles, 10 for loss, six passes defended and two forced fumbles. Coming off of the edge, Pro Football Focus also graded him a 61.6 overall mark in 2020, the 26th best player at his position.

In his contract, Van Noy was essentially paid $15M in guarantees for last year, but will now save the Dolphins near $10M against the salary cap in 2021. Due to COVID-19 last season, the upcoming salary cap is projected to drop to somewhere between $180-185M.

Touch decisions such as this might be en route for other NFL clubs as well in order for them to get into a more comfortable spot in terms of the salary cap. The Bills won’t be a stranger to such things as well.

[lawrence-related id=78965,78951,78954,78931]

ESPN predicts Bills do not defend AFC East title in 2021

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell says Miami Dolphins, not Buffalo Bills, will win AFC East in 2021.

[jwplayer iFBBOvaa]

The Buffalo Bills won their first AFC East title in 25 years this past season. In regard to the division, ESPN predicts they’ll one and done.

The world-wide leader recently penned extremely early 2021 NFL playoff predictions and how the 14-seed postseason will look. Now, the expectation is still that the Bills will be in the dance… but not as divisional winners.

In the estimations, the Miami Dolphins land as the No. 3 seed as AFC East title winners while the Bills slot in at No. 5.

Here’s part of analyst Bill Barnwell’s predicted step back from the Bills next season:

I’m expecting a small step backward for the Bills for a couple of reasons. One is that they went 13-3 with the point differential of a 10.6-win team. They went 4-1 in games decided by seven points or fewer and got to that point differential only after finishing the season by winning three consecutive games by 29-plus points. They have one of the league’s deepest lineups, but they’re basically at the cap line for 2021 before giving Allen a lucrative extension.

The Bills taking a step back could be possible in 2021. The 13 wins Buffalo nabbed last season was a franchise record… so dropping one or two more games next year is fair. However, the Dolphins failed to make the postseason this past season in general…

No playoffs to divisional winner in general is bold, but the added reasoning is an expected step forward, and a big one in that by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa:

Brian Flores’ team probably won’t have Ryan Fitzpatrick back, but it seems fair to suggest that Tua Tagovailoa will be better with a true offseason in his first full year as Miami’s starting quarterback.

We still have a long ways to go until the 2021 season, but as things currently sit, Buffalo is the clear-cut favorite in the AFC East despite ESPN’s prediction. Tagovailoa has a lot to prove and in order to edge out the Bills… he would have to have a Josh Allen type of breakout from this past season. Imagining that happening is very unlikely.

Additionally, the Dolphins had their defense carry them to a 10-6 record this season. Everyone just assumed the Bills defense would just keep churning out productivity this past season as well. Remember how that went?

[lawrence-related id=78243,78234,78200,78198]

WATCH: Cole Beasley throws Tua Tagovailoa shade in pre-Super Bowl ad

Buffalo Bills WR Cole Beasley throws shade at Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa in Super Bowl ad.

To each their own, but evidently Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley is a pineapple on pizza kind of guy.

More importantly, via GrubHub, we now know he can talk a little PG rated trash.

In a pre-Super Bowl advertising for the food delivery service floating around currently, Beasley appears in a commercial for the company which also includes Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

In it, Beasley and Tagovailoa debate pizza toppings but the fun part is the shade Beasley throws Tagovailoa about not making the postseason in 2020. Beasley says pineapple on pizza is as “sweet as making the playoffs” before apologizing to Tagovailoa.

As the story goes, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins had to win Week 17 against the Bills for a shot to make the dance despite a 10-5 record heading into the game… but things didn’t go according to plan. The Bills won 56-26.

Check out the cheek from Beasley in the commercial, which also includes a pair of division rivals from the NFC West, Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett, here:

[lawrence-related id=77979,77976,77969,77966]

Dolphins won’t be hiring Bills QB coach Ken Dorsey

Buffalo Bills will retain QB Coach Ken Dorsey in 2021.

[jwplayer yit7dffx-ThvAeFxT]

What might be the final fear in terms of the Bills losing members of their coaching staff this offseason appears to have come and gone.

According to reports via Dolphins Wire, Miami has decided to hire from within to fill their vacant offensive coordinator spot. The job will be filled by two people.

The Dolphins are promoting offensive assistants George Godsey (tight ends/quarterbacks) and Eric Studesville (running backs) to co-offensive coordinators in 2021. Previously Bills quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey was labeled as a candidate on the Dolphins’ radar.

Dorsey, like offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, will remain in Buffalo in 2021. All three had been connected to various promotions around the NFL, but despite the Bills going 13-3, the whole gang will be sticking around for another go next season.

During the 2020 season, former Bills head coach Chan Gailey was the offensive coordinator for Miami on Brian Flores’ coaching staff.

Stay tuned to Bills Wire for any further coaching search updates involving the Buffalo coaching staff.

[lawrence-related id=77935,77919,77905,77892]

RB Le’Veon Bell explains picking Chiefs over Bills, Dolphins

RB Le’Veon Bell reflects on picking Kansas City Chiefs over Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins.

Former All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell has had nothing short of a roller coaster of a career. 2020 was no different as he started the year in the AFC East with the Jets and was even briefly connected to other divisional teams including the Bills.

As the story went, he’s now prepping for Super Bowl LV with the Chiefs. After being rumored as a guy who was going to be traded, the 28-year-old was cut and was considering the Bills and Dolphins as options before picking his current team.

On Tuesday, Bell reflected on that decision he made back in October and explained his pick via video conference from the Super Bowl’s media week. Simply put, Bell felt the Chiefs gave him his best chance the win right now.

“I was so torn between how much of a workload did I actually want vs. winning? At that time, [after my time] with the Jets, I was so focused on winning, I didn’t really care about how my production would look. It got so frustrating losing,” Bell said. “I came here to get to this game, and I’m here. So I look at it like I came to the right spot.”

Bell did say the decision was not an easy one, though.

“It’s hard even trying to explain it. But it was real close between the Dolphins, Bills and Chiefs,” Bell said.

During the Bell saga, the Bills did confirm interest in Bell via head coach Sean McDermott.

“You know Brandon (Beane) and I always look into every situation… this being one of them,” McDermott said.

Considering the rushing struggles the Bills had this season on offense, their admitted interest in him, the running back’s “tough” decision, and Bell only signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs… perhaps he’s a name to watch during free agency this offseason? Zack Moss and Devin Singletary will both return in 2020, but an improvement is needed in their rushing attack one way or another.

Bell is expected to return to the Chiefs lineup for Sunday’s game after sitting out the AFC Championship vs. the Bills due to injury.

[lawrence-related id=77905,77892,77888,77881]

Report connects Bills’ Ken Dorsey to Dolphins’ offensive coordinator job

Buffalo Bills QB Coach Ken Dorset connected to Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator role.

Earlier this week, the thought was that the Bills would retain most of their coaching staff after vacant jobs around the NFL started to get filled.

First, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll did not land either job he interviewed for, which included the head coach duties for the Jets and Chargers. Then Buffalo quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey, connected to the Lions and Seahawks, seemed good to go for the Bills’ 2021 season as those vacant OC jobs were filled.

Further good news came late Wednesday as the Texans decided not to hire Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as their head coach.

But wait, there’s more?

According to a report in the Sun Sentinel from the Senior Bowl, there’s a new potential team to monitor in terms of Dorsey: The Dolphins.

Specifically, the report says that the interest in Dorsey, like interest around the NFL in Daboll, comes because of the development of Buffalo’s Josh Allen. However, the interesting part is that the report states that some in the league  think Dorsey is more of the reason for Allen’s improvements than Daboll, which could be why the Dolphins are interested.

Perhaps speculation, perhaps truth. It’s something that’s likely unlikely to ever be discovered, but it is an intriguing philosophy nonetheless. Reportedly a knock on Dorsey currently is his lack of experience calling plays… which really isn’t even a report. When Daboll was connected to other jobs, Dorsey was pegged the most-likely in-house replacement by some, but the fact that he has no experience calling plays was a concern to those doing so.

Former Bills head coach Chan Gailey was previously the Dolphins’ OC last season but stepped down following 2020. That’s the potential job Dorsey is connected to with the Dolphins.

Stay tuned to Bills Wire for any further coaching search updates involving the Buffalo coaching staff.

[lawrence-related id=77714,77759,77761,77740]

One more time: Isaiah McKenzie give Bills first punt TD since 2014

Buffalo Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie returns punt return for a touchdown.

The Bills put 56 points up on the Dolphins in their season finale in a 56-26 victory. There was a lot to recall from that one as well.

But the most fun play in the game of football, or at least a top-three one, is the return for a touchdown on special teams. It’s electric. One of those popped up for the Bills (13-3) just before their season ended.

Isaiah McKenzie was undoubtedly the star for the Bills with his three touchdowns. Among those was an 82-yard punt return for a score. Making it even better, McKenzie called it, too.

It was the first time since 2014 that Buffalo had one of those, so that alone is good reason to see it again.

Here’s McKenzie’s punt return score against the Dolphins one more time before turning your attention to Wild Card weekend’s matchup with the Indianapolis Colts:

[lawrence-related id=76049,76051,76060,76047]

Power Rankings: Bills end season as NFL’s hottest team

Buffalo Bills in NFL power ranking polls for Week 17.

[jwplayer REySUQa3-ThvAeFxT]

The Buffalo Bills followed up a 48-point performance against the Denver Broncos with a dominant 56-26 performance in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins. While improving to 13-3, the Bills completed a season sweep of their AFC East rivals ahead of a Wild Card round playoff matchup with the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.

All things considered, after that thrashing of the Dolphins, Buffalo’s third-straight win of 29 or more, the Bills enter the 2020 playoffs as the league’s hottest team. Even the season-ending power rankings agree.

With that, here’s how the Bills sit in national polls following Week 17:

USA Today

3. Bills (3)

They’re arguably the league’s best team … and almost certainly its hottest, Buffalo’s average margin of victory over the last six weeks nearly three touchdowns.

Touchdown Wire

3. Buffalo Bills

(13-3. Last Week: 3)

With a win Sunday over the visiting Miami Dolphins the Buffalo Bills, or a loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bills would secure the second-overall seed in the playoffs. With the Steelers making the decision to sit down Ben Roethlisberger, it would be interesting to see how head coach Sean McDermott handled his starters. Would he pull them at some point or finish through the tape?

McDermott pulled them, but that did not stop the Bills from hanging a 50-burger on the Dolphins. Josh Allen threw three touchdowns, Matt Barkley threw one coming on in relief, and the Bills made the case yet again that if there is a threat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC, it is Buffalo.

Sports Illustrated

3. Buffalo Bills (13-3)

Points in poll: 212
Highest-place vote: 2 (3)
Lowest-place vote: 4 (1)
Last week: win vs. Miami 56–26
Next week: vs. Indianapolis

The Bills swept the AFC East and tied a franchise record for wins this season, and now have their eyes set on even bigger goals.

Sporting News

5. Buffalo Bills 13-3 (AFC No. 2 seed)

The Bills (13-3) are down here behind three NFC teams because they play in the AFC facing the big obstacle of the Chiefs, who beat them by a solid nine points in the regular season while containing Josh Allen, the conference’s second-most dangerous QB after Mahomes.

The Bills certainly are capable of outscoring the Chiefs if needed, but the concerns would be having ample defensive holes for Mahomes and the Chiefs’ running game to exploit. They are helped by their recent playoff experience (albeit losing) with coach Sean McDermott and the emotions that will come from making an always-proud franchise a Super Bowl contender again.

Yahoo! Sports

2. Buffalo Bills (13-3, LW: 2)

John Brown played for the first time since Nov. 15 and had 72 yards and a touchdown. Getting Brown healthy right before the playoffs is another good sign for the Bills. He can be an important factor this month.

Bleacher Report

3. Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC No. 2 Seed)

High: 3

Low: 3

On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills will do something they haven’t done since 1996: host a postseason game.

No team is entering the postseason with more momentum than Buffalo, either. Sunday’s blowout win over the Miami Dolphins put a cap on a season from Josh Allen that was the best ever by a Bills quarterback.

In fact, Allen is the first quarterback in league history to pass for more than 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns with five rushing scores, according to BuffaloNews.com.

Per Sobleski, Allen’s presence might just make the Bills the toughest out in all of the AFC.

“Allen may not be named the 2020 NFL MV—that nod will eventually go to Aaron Rodgers—but no quarterback is more difficult to defend today,” he said. “Everything came together for the 24-year-old, who finished among the top five this season in completion percentage (69.2), passing yardage (4,544), touchdown passes (37) and quarterback rating (107.2) while adding 421 yards and eight scores on the ground. Trying to stop Allen and Stefon Diggs has been nearly impossible this season, which makes the Bills arguably the AFC’s scariest postseason opponent.”

While the Bills are rolling, safety Micah Hyde told reporters after the Dolphins game that the real work now begins.

“We’ve played some pretty good ball lately, we understand that,” Hyde said. “But we’ve got to keep it going. I think it starts in practice this week. We’re coming off some big wins, so we gained a little momentum, we’ll assume that. … At the end of the day, we got some momentum, so we’ll keep it going.”

If the Bills continue to play the way they did against Miami in Week 17, they have the best chance of preventing the Chiefs from making it back to the Super Bowl for a second consecutive year.

Pro Football Talk

1. Bills (last week No. 2; 12-3)

Four resounding wins in four straight nationally-televised games shows that the Bills are ready to win multiple games in January.

ESPN

3. Buffalo Bills (13-3)

Week 16 ranking: 2

The Bills are a tough team to find a resolution for — they’re doing almost everything well as the regular season rounds out. But after winning the AFC East for the first time in 25 years, it’ll be hard to play the underdog card that Buffalo has often played the past two seasons. There will be raised expectations for the Bills once the calendar turns; they’ll need to be as comfortable with a target on their backs as they were with a chip on their shoulders.

[lawrence-related id=76040,76042,76037,75978]

9 studs, 3 duds in Bills’ 56-26 win over Dolphins

Studs and duds from the Buffalo Bills’ Week 17 win over the Miami Dolphins.

In terms of a top-to-bottom effort from a team in the NFL, it’s hard to get much better than the effort the Buffalo Bills gave against the Miami Dolphins in Week 17.

When the Bills (13-3) put their starters in? Great work. Then when the Dolphins (10-6) took on Buffalo’s backups? They still were too much for the visitors to handle.

After looking at the tape and letting the dust settle, here are nine studs and three duds from the Bills in their win over the Dolphins:

Duds

RB Devin Singletary

Both Devin Singletary and Zack Moss only had three carries in this one. Moss had eight yards to Singletary’s seven. Neither guy had much of a workload, but Singletary usually has a promising catch or two. Instead, Moss turned heads in that role with an angry run early off a grab in the flat. Both will have more opportunities in the playoffs.

TE Dawson Knox

Dawson Knox had a nice catch late from Matt Barkley 20 yards down the field, but his effort came into question on a deep target on an early third down. In addition, Knox had eight targets throughout the game and only hauled in two of them. That’s not great for a guy who’s not exactly a touted blocker.

Sloppy starts

Slight bit of nervous energy there from the Bills in the first quarter, specifically on offense. Passes sailed, running plays went nowhere, balls were dropped, drives were not extended. Not a lot went right for the Bills in the opening quarter, as the team only gained 42 total yards and turned the ball over. Somehow, all whopping 56 points came after the first frame.

Push

CB Josh Norman

The veteran cornerback had a pick-six interception, Josh Norman’s first since 2015 when he was back with the Panthers. However, DeVante Parker finished with seven catches for 116 yards. Parker has a thing for solid games against the Bills, but about half of his grabs, slightly more even, came against Norman. Levi Wallace allowed his longest grab, though.

WR Andre Roberts

Andre Roberts is a deserved Pro Bowler. But he has one big problem as Buffalo’s return man: Roberts never scores. Isaiah McKenzie took backup snaps in the this role for Roberts and he scored the Bills’ first punt return touchdown since 2014. Funny how things work like that sometimes.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Report card: Bills top Dolphins, 56-26

Buffalo Bills Week 17 report card after a 56-26 win vs. the Miami Dolphins.

There might not be enough ways to describe what the Buffalo Bills did to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. In the Bills’ season finale, things went brutal for the Dolphins as Buffalo won 56-26.

The game was not only painful to watch for Miami, it was season-ending as the Dolphins (10-6)  later went on to miss out on the postseason due to their loss to the Bills (13-3). That comes in a year when two teams in the NFC (Bears, Football Team), made the postseason with a .500 or worse record.

Double ouch.

Following the huge regular season ending win for Buffalo, here’s how Bills Wire graded out them out in Week 17: