Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins: Three Keys to the Game

The Buffalo Bills’ Week 17 tilt against the Miami Dolphins kicks off at 4:25 p.m. in Miami Gardens.

The Buffalo Bills are playing meaningful football – with a shot at the postseason – in the final week of the regular season.

It’s been a long time since that has been the case.

In what might be Buffalo’s biggest game in the last 17 years, the Bills face a familiar foe: The Miami Dolphins.

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These two teams met in Week 15, a 24-16 victory. The game was much closer than it needed to be but it was a win nonetheless, and it put Buffalo at the eight-win mark.

Miami can play spoiler this week, but in order to keep their postseason dreams intact, the Bills just need to take care of business.

You know the drill, each week during the regular season this column will provide the three ways the Bills can secure a victory. So, without further ado, here are the Three Keys to the Game for the matchup against the Dolphins, which kicks off 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium on CBS.

Contain Kenyan Drake

Kenyan Drake has been a pleasant surprise in what has been a disappointing season for the Dolphins.

After trading Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles at the trade deadline, Drake has done more than just fill in. The Alabama alum has made the Miami faithful quickly forget about their breakout back from a year ago.

Drake went for 113 yards and a score on 22 touches in the first meeting. However, much of dual-threat back’s damage came when Buffalo already had a lead.

This is the path Buffalo needs to take on Sunday.

If the Bills can bottle up the run like they did two weeks ago, Jay Cutler will be forced to take matters into his own hands. When Cutler has to make plays, he often makes mistakes, which will work well for Buffalo.

Score First

Remember how I mentioned that Cutler was at his worst when he’s forced to be an aggressor?

Yeah, this key plays right into that.

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Tyrod Taylor’s career when trailing by more than four points is well documented.

In fact, we mentioned it here last week that the Bills are 4-1 when they score first this season. That includes the Week 15 win.

While Drake can catch the ball out of the backfield and Jarvis Landry is talented out of the slot, the Dolphins aren’t exactly made to play from behind.

Kenny Stills is their deep threat and he’s the league’s 83rd-best wide receiver, according to Pro Football Focus, with a score of 51.1.

Leonard Johnson’s going to have to rebound from his miserable Week 16 performance against the Patriots because Landry is the type of receiver that can take advantage of a mismatch.

Landry has the 10th-best catch rate at 77.2, the seventh-most receiving yards at 562 and hasn’t registered a drop out of the slot, according to PFF.

Johnson needs to bring his A game.

Feed Kelvin Benjamin

Kelvin Benjamin is going to see a heavy dose of Xavien Howard on Sunday.

While Howard has been one of the better cornerbacks in football over the last five weeks, registering a 2.4 passer rating, he still ranks 12th-worst with a 51.2 according to PFF.

Injured knee and all, Benjamin is just starting to pick up steam. He’s coming off of a strong performance – registering five catches for 70 yards on seven targets – and now has a favorable matchup. He could be in line for his first 100-hard game as a Bill.

Prediction: Bills 27, Dolphins 17

Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy always seem to play well against the Dolphins. With the playoffs on the line Sunday, there’s little reason to expect any less.

Next: Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots: Risers and Fallers

It could also be a big day for Charles Clay, who has seen an uptick in production with Taylor back under center. Clay had five receptions for 68 yards in the last meeting.

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