BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Bills are coming off the bye week and now face the Miami Dolphins for the second time this season. Back in week 2, the Bills shut out the Dolphins 35-0 inside Hard Rock Stadium.
Can the team sweep the Dolphins this season and win their seventh straight meeting? Our 7 Eyewitness Sports team weighs in:
Matt Bove:
It's such a cliche, but in this case, it's true. The Dolphins are much better than the typical one-win team. In the two games since Tua Tagovailoa has returned to the lineup, the Dolphins' offense has been significantly better.
That said, it's hard to bet on Miami coming to Buffalo and heading back to South Beach with a win. Since their first matchup of the year, the Bills offense has been exceptional. In their last four games, the Bills have scored an average of 38 points per game. The Dolphins defense has struggled this season and are allowing more than 29 points per game.
Sure, the Dolphins offense is playing better, but they don't have elite playmakers like the Bills have gone up against the last few weeks. I don't think the Bills will shut out the Dolphins as they did in Week 2. But I'm not picking the Bills to lose a game coming off a bye week either.
Bills: 31, Dolphins: 23
Season record: 4-2
Jenna Callari:
In 2020, the Bills lost on a last second TD in the game before their bye week and proceeded to rattle off ten straight wins.
This season, the Bills lost on a last second TD in the game before their bye week and say things feel eerily similar to last season.
I'm not saying the Bills are going to rattle off ten straight wins, although their schedule does favor them in a few ways. First up is the Dolphins, a team they beat 35-0 back in week 2, and a team they're better than in so many areas.
When you look at the Bills and Dolphins, they're on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to scoring. Entering week 8, the Bills offense is 2nd in scoring while the defense leads the league. The Dolphins offense, meanwhile, is 29th in scoring while the defense is 31st.
Now the Dolphins have looked better in recent weeks, losing their last two games on last-second field goals, and Tua has been able to air things out when given the opportunity. But the Bills defense can match up with them.. while the Dolphins defense is no where near matching up with a Bills offense.
That's the big difference.
The Bills have won six straight meetings against the Dolphins. They'll get their 7th this weekend.
Random prediction? He got one called back last week, so let's go with an Isaiah McKenzie return for a TD.
Bills: 37, Dolphins: 13
Season Record: 3-3
Adam Unger:
Sean McDermott has never lost after a bye week as a head coach. That trend will continue this week, but don't expect the blowout fashion we all saw in September.
After the loss to the Titans under the lights, Buffalo was due for a get-right game. Lucky for them, they have three of them in a row coming up and it starts this week. We saw what the Bills are capable of against the Chiefs. They don't need that against the Dolphins, Jets, or Jaguars.
They will need more than what they got against Tennessee, though. Complementary football between the offense and the defense yields blowouts at its best. But at the very least, if one unit has a down week, the other has to bail them out. And that didn't happen going into the bye week.
Tua Tagovailoa has had to run for his life every time he drops back to throw. He hasn't looked as mobile as he did at Alabama since he came into the league. This week is another chance for the Bills pass rush to put itself on display. And it's a chance for Buffalo to get its legs again, too.
Bills: 28, Dolphins: 17
Season Record: 3-3
