Buffalo Bills Week 2 Opponent Preview: Miami Dolphins

Bills linebacker Tyler Matakevich (44) pressures Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.Jg 010321 Bills 25
Bills linebacker Tyler Matakevich (44) pressures Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.Jg 010321 Bills 25 /
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The Buffalo Bills dropped their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-16 in a disappointing effort. They will look to get back on track in their Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

Buffalo Bills’ All-Time Record vs the Dolphins

The Buffalo Bills are 52-61-1 all-time against the Miami Dolphins. The Bills have been excellent against the Dolphins under Sean McDermott. They have taken seven out of eight matchups since McDermott arrived in Buffalo, and the Bills have won by an average margin of 14.1 points in their seven victories under McDermott.

Last Meeting

The Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins last met in Week 17 of the 2020 season. The Bills crushed the Dolphins 56-26 in a game that Miami had to win in order to get into the playoffs. Buffalo’s starters only played in the first half. Their backups only added to the manhandling of the Dolphins that day, matching the 28 points that the starters posted in the first half.

Last Week’s Result

The Miami Dolphins won a nail-biter against the New England Patriots in Week 1, holding on to win 17-16.

Miami’s offense was uninspiring. They were outgained by the Patriots 393-259. Tua Tagovailoa completed 16 of 27 passes for just 202 yards, a 79.6 passer rating, a touchdown, and an awful interception. Tagovailoa also rushed for a three yard touchdown to open the scoring.

Miami’s run game was pedestrian as per usual. They only ran for 74 yards on 23 carries. Myles Gaskin, their leading rusher on the day, ran for just 49 yards.

2021 15th overall pick Mac Jones was clearly the better of the two quarterbacks on the field in Foxborough on Sunday, throwing for 79 more yards and his passer rating was 23 points better.

The Miami offense was saved by two costly fumbles by Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris. This was a game that Tagovailoa nearly threw the game away, but the Miami defense saved him by forcing Damien Harris to fumble on the potential game winning drive.

The Dolphin offensive line did not play well on Sunday. The Dolphins could not get anything going in the ground game, and Tagovailoa was sacked twice.

Final Thoughts

The Miami Dolphins sit at 1-0 after their close win in Week 1, while the Buffalo Bills enter the Week 2 matchup coming off of a disappointing effort in Week 1. Bills fans should not be discouraged headed into this game, however.

Buffalo’s defense allowed just 16 points to a Pittsburgh offense that is better than Miami’s, and the defensive line was getting pressure on Ben Roethlisberger all afternoon. The Bills have the better offense and the better defense, and they should bounce back against the Dolphins in a competitive game in Week 2.