Lean Into It: The Miami Dolphins Have a Bills Problem
There are plenty of narratives about the Miami Dolphins that are exaggerated, cherry-picked, or just outright false. Some are media-driven, some have a small sample size, and some are reiterated by fans who believe that volume and repetition make a narrative more accurate (they don’t). But this one is absolutely accurate, and there’s just no getting around it:
The Buffalo Bills have completely dominated the Miami Dolphins with Josh Allen at QB, and they’re in town tonight. So what’s the problem? It’s more than one thing, so let’s look at the problems and how to address them.
Problem One: The Offensive Playcalling.
Five point four. Seven point five. Seven point five.
What do those three numbers represent? That is the average yards per carry the Miami Dolphins have against the Bills in their last three losses with Tua at QB. The Buffalo Bills simply have not been able to stop the run against a healthy Mike McDaniel offense, and he keeps straying away from it for reasons known only to him,
McDaniel displayed moments of awe-inspiring brilliance, but his playcalling against Buffalo was not one of them. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again until I’m screaming it from the rooftops: Buffalo cannot stop the run against this offense. Keep running the ball until they start stacking the box, and then try to make them pay. Please. Before I have a stroke.
Problem Two: Letting Josh Allen get comfortable.
In another one of those “absolutely accurate” bits, Josh Allen is a really good quarterback. However, when he gets uncomfortable and pressured, he’s mistake-prone, and (as any good Dolphins fan will tell you) he still turns the ball over…a lot. Since 2020, he has had the most turnovers by a considerable margin, and the only QBs of note with a higher interception rate are Mac Jones and Carson Wentz. That is not particularly good company.
The key to causing his bad throws is pressure; Vic Fangio was not particularly good at creating pressure, and nobody with a sack against Buffalo in 2023 is presently on Miami’s roster (Van Ginkel, Wilkins, and Melvin Ingram were the only three players who sacked Allen).
Anthony Weaver shut down the Jaguars in the second half last year, showing a refreshing alternative to last year’s defensive scheme by actually making in-game adjustments. Arizona isn’t exactly a defensive powerhouse, and they tallied sacks by Kei’Trel Clark and Roy Lopez and three pressures on Josh Allen in the first half before Buffalo adjusted. Even the most pessimistic Dolphins fan should admit that the Dolphins have better pass rushers than the Cardinals. Let’s see what Weaver can draw up.
Problem Three: “The Dolphins Fold Under Pressure”
It’s one thing for an opponent to make comments about your team. It’s entirely another for a former opponent to join your team and basically let them know that other teams thought they were soft. There’s a lot of evidence to support this; in several games against Buffalo over the past few years, Miami let the games get completely out of hand when they were behind. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, the Bills have outscored the Dolphins by 75 points in the second halves of their contests. That’s not good.
Was the problem Boyer’s calls on defense? Fangio remaining in his glass tower, calling his defense without actually having to interact with his players? Whatever it was, it was pervasive, and Jordan Poyer’s revelation to the rest of the locker room likely sent a message. That message seems to have been received; from the moment Jevon Holland punched out the football to save the game against the Jaguars, Miamio shut down Jacksonville. They played anything but soft.
It’s time to turn the page on the past; Buffalo comes to Miami tonight, and one of them will be in first place tomorrow morning. The Dolphins have an opportunity to change the narratives. Let’s hope they take it.
