Tag: Buffalo Bills vs. Miami 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):

Bills Wire Week 18 Player of the Game: S Taylor Rapp

Bills Wire Week 18 Player of the Game: S Taylor Rapp:

The Buffalo Bills secured the AFC East division with a win against division challenging Miami Dolphins on Sunday night to extend their winning streak to 5 games and secure home field for the first game in the playoffs.

Buffalo (11-6) secured the game with an interception to seal the win, good for a 21-14 final. In a contest that saw them come from behind to take the lead with multiple touchdowns in the fourth quarter, they needed to prevent Miami from scoring in the final two minutes of the game.

With the Dolphins looking to respond to Buffalo’s comeback in their 2-minute drive with no timeouts, the Bills phenomenal defense secured their second turnover of the day by intercepting the ball to kneel and secure the win.

In this game, there are so many players on offense, defense, and special teams could have won this week’s Player of the Game, and they would be well deserved in an outing that many of the top Buffalo talent showed up and showed out in.

We are awarding the Player of the Game Award in Week 18 to safety Taylor Rapp, who secured the game winning interception:

Taylor Rapp signed this offseason with the Bills and had an incredible impact along with other offseason signings Deonty Harty and Trent Sherfield. Rapp’s interception was a perfect read on the Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to end the game as Miami had no more time outs to get the ball back.

The Buffalo Bills will use the week to prepare Bills Stadium to host their AFC Wild-Card Round showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon.

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Bills players share their ideal teammates for a snowball fight

Who ya got?

Buffalo Bills players seem to like the snow.

In the 2022/23 season, fans and players will remember a frantic end to the game against AFC East rival Miami Dolphins where the special team unit cleared the snow for Tyler Bass to kick the winner and secure the division and home-field advantage for their Wild Card round the following week against the Dolphins.

Playing in Buffalo in December means cold weathers and plenty of snow for the Bills in Orchard Park. And Bills players who are the two teammates they would like to see in a snowball fight.

Many of the answered the obvious, quarterback Josh Allen, but interesting answers came as well. Some offensive lineman picked other offensive lineman teammates and more than a handful selected safety Micah Hyde.

You can watch the full clip here:

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Bills’ Josh Allen on Dolphins: ‘They probably want to right their wrong’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on #Dolphins: ‘They probably want to right their wrong’ (via @TejasVemparala):

The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills face off this Sunday since their entertaining, high-scoring 2022 Wild Card playoff game.

The pair are wrestling for control of the AFC East.

Last season’s playoff game between the two ended in a Buffalo 34-31 win at home. Considering that the Bills knocked out the Dolphins, whether revenge is on Miami’s mind has been a conversation topic and Bills quarterback Josh Allen weighed in.

“We understand that this is a team that’s playing well and they’re coming into our house.” said Allen said via video conference. “And the implications of what happened last year in the playoffs – they probably want to right their wrong.”

In that playoff contest, the Dolphins were down starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The backup quarterback Skylar Thompson, a relative unknown, got the starting nod. The Bills narrowly won.

All considered, Miami is leaning more toward Sunday just being another day at the office.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel had said that the revenge factor is not as important to his team.

“If you need to be motivated for a game like this, check your pulse.” McDaniel said.

We’ll have to watch and see if the emotional do play a part or not at Highmark Stadium in Week 4.

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Bills vs. Dolphins: How to watch, listen, stream & broadcast map

#Bills vs. #Dolphins: How to watch, listen, stream & broadcast map:

The Buffalo Bills (2-1) face a tough test as they look to take control of the AFC East division when they host the Miami Dolphins (3-0) in Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season.

Here is everything you need to know about the game and how to watch, listen or stream Bills at Dolphins live:

Game information:

Teams: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills.

Date: Sunday, Oct. 1.

Kickoff time: 1:00 p.m. EST.

Kickoff weather: Sunny skies, low 70s with easterly winds at 5-15 mph.

Location: Highmark Stadium.

Television Broadcast crew (CBS Sports): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo

Broadcast coverage area (Dolphins at Bills in red): 

Streaming: fuboTV (try it free).

Radio: Buffalo Bills radio network

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Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on Bills: ‘If you need to be motivated–Check your pulse’

#Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on Bills: ‘If you need to be motivated–Check your pulse’ (via @TejasVemparala):

Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills fans alike are looking forward to this Sunday’s showdown between two fantastic teams. The pair will wrestle for control of the AFC East.

So is Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.

The matchup is the first time the two teams have faced off since 2022. As is usually the case because Buffalo and Miami play twice each and every year as divisional rivials.

However, last season was different. There was a third meeting in the postseason, one which the Bills won.

Considering that, revenge could be on Miami’s mind… but not McDaniel. He said he doesn’t need it.

This one is already big enough.

“If you need to be motivated for a game like this, check your pulse. Or maybe consider a career adjustment,” McDaniel said via ESPN. “You sign up to play the best and I think (the Bills) have been that.”

In that playoff contest, the Dolphins were down starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Instead, backup Skylar Thompson, a relative unknown, got the nod.

The Bills won, but narrowly, it was a 34-31 final.

McDaniel, much like Bills head coach Sean McDermott, both understand the importance of getting ahead of a division rival and leading the division early in the season. That’s all the motivation needed.

Likewise, Tagovailoa seems to echo this mentality of taking care of business and not focusing on other factors:

“We got to beat these guys. They’re the next team up, so we know all of us have to be ready,” Tagovailoa said.

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Bills put together pass-rush fest among best ever recorded by NFL Next Gen Stats

Bills put together pass-rush fest among best ever recorded by NFL Next Gen Stats:

Yes, the Buffalo Bills defense was that good.

After the Bills’ blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, it was clear to see the pass rush has been legit in 2023.

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):

After last week when the Bills defense put pressure on the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo but failed to sack him. This is more of what we have come to expect of the Bills pass-rush and it’s going to be tough to keep it going moving forward.

Buffalo hosts the Miami Dolphins in Week 4. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has only been sacked once through three games thanks to his quickness in getting the ball out.

The Bills have their work cut out for them.

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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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Bills’ phenomenal defense vs. Commanders set a new team record

A new team record for the #Bills (via @TejasVemparala):

The Buffalo Bills defense dominated on Sunday versus the Washington Commanders, with the Bills’ pass rushers combining to sack Commanders’ quarterback Sam Howell nine times.

The pass rush helped force five turnovers in the 37-3 win. Howell was constantly under pressure when throwing and the Bills’ pass rushers had a field day against a weak offensive line.

Turns out, the pass rushers set a record in Buffalo team history. Sunday was the first time that the Bills defense had four defenders with one or more sack ever:

Bills Wire Week 3 Player of the Game linebacker Terrel Bernard led the pass-rushing pressure along with defensive end Leonard Floyd. They had two sacks each.

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones also joined Bernard and Floyd in the multi-sack stat column with 1.5 sacks each, respectively.

The nine-sack performance is a big departure from last week’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders where Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo was not sacked at all.

The Bills defense has never had four players with multiple sacks, but have had nine sacks against an opponent before.

On Jan, 9, 2022, the Bills registered nine against the New York Jets, with Mario Addison, Jordan Poyer, and Ed Oliver registering multiple sacks. The dominating performance by the defense is incredibly impressive.

The Bills defensive line will need a repeat performance this Sunday when they play the undefeated division rival Miami Dolphins against an electric offense that scored 70 points last weekend. We hope to see multiple sacks against Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

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