The Buffalo Bills have been riding high after dismantling the Seahawks in Seattle, to give them a 6-2 record and a commanding lead on the AFC East. This week brings division foe, the Miami Dolphins, to Orchard Park which is the second meeting between these two teams this season. It is safe to say that this game is the culmination of a season that has gone two different ways for these teams.
For Buffalo, the season started fabulous with the offense clicking and MVP talk for Josh Allen then a rough showing against Baltimore and an even more frustrating showing against Houston had the Bills somewhat reeling. A gritty win against the lowly Jets and an Amari Cooper trade got the Bills seemingly back on track with two impressive wins against Tennessee and Seattle has the feeling of a team that is set up for a great second half of the season.
For Miami, Tua Tagovailoa came off IR last week to play in a loss to Arizona. The Dolphins sit at 2-5, 1-4 without Tua, and are in desperate need of a win this week. Tua changed his look but can it help against Josh Allen who is 12-2 against Miami in his career? Tyreek Hill wasn’t at practice Wednesday. This would have to turnaround quickly for the Dolphins to salvage this season.
For the Bills, it is going to be business as usual and with the new found confidence the Bills are playing with, you have to be confident the Bills can take care of business and going into the second half of the season.
2 Dolphins weaknesses the Bills need to attack
Targeting Jalen Ramsey
While he is a productive cornerback, Jalen Ramsey isn’t the vaunted shutdown corner he used to be. Ramsey is allowing a 114.8 passer rating when targeted and allows 11.1 yards per reception this season per Pro Football Focus. Amari Cooper would most likely draw Ramsey in coverage assuming Cooper’s wrist is healthy enough but if not Kalil Shakir would draw Ramsey. Either way, throwing at Ramsey and making him work early would get a safety to shift and everything else would open up.
Front four vs Tua Tagovailoa
In Week 2, the Bills blitzed Tua zero times. that’s right, zero. They managed one sack but Tua had 145 yards passing with 3 interceptions. Letting your front four do their jobs and making Tua use his arm to beat you is seemingly the recipe for success for Buffalo. Von Miller is back at practice after his four-game suspension, so the Bills pass rush gets better and can benefit from a rested Von Miller on third downs. The Bills defense had a great day disrupting Geno Smith last week, and the defensive line can do the same against Tua.