The Miami Dolphins look to turn the page and start a new chapter Thursday night in their series with the Buffalo Bills. Recently, the AFC East rival has had the Dolphins’ number winning four of the last five matchups, including the postseason. While it is arguable that Miami has the beginnings of a new identity with this 2024 team, Thursday night on primetime will be an absolute test for this Dolphins team. A team with a stigma and league-wide reputation of being “soft.”
This sentiment was confirmed by free agent Dolphin signee, safety Jordan Poyer over the Summer. The former Buffalo Bills defensive back and leader, hopefully, will usher in a new temperament for a Dolphins team that has to get over a certain hump. “Playing against this team over the past few years, you get a sense of, ‘OK, if you get on top of this team, they might fold,” he told reports in the offseason. Poyer was channeling a change in South Beach.
That is, play full games and forget about mistakes. Of course, this can lead to beating the league’s elite, including Buffalo and quarterback Josh Allen. The Dolphins have had a tremendously hard time against him, and as a team, they tend to struggle against dual-threat quarterbacks.
As Poyer told the media in July, “Don’t get stuck in that play that you didn’t make or don’t get stuck in X, Y, X of the past.” We will all see if Poyer’s words resonate with his new teammates on Thursday night. Safety Jevon Holland heard him loud and clear. In what will be a forever-memorable play, Holland punched out a fumble on Travis Etienne last week at the doorstep of the Dolphins endzone. It’s a safe bet that the Bills and Allen should be able to gather some yards against the Dolphins, but it is a timely defense play, as Holland showed last week, that the Dolphins could utilize against the Bills on Thursday night.
Additionally, the Dolphins have had trouble with vertical threat tight ends, and in this case, the Bills possess both with Allen and target Dalton Kincaid. The New Dolphins’ defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver, will be tasked with stopping Allen and his ability to throw and run. Allen no longer has his top target from years past, Stefon Diggs. Yet he now has a number of weapons to spread the ball to, as shown in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Dolphins’ defensive backs will have the task of slowing down the Bills receiving core. Miami’s pass rush must fluster Allen, and even if they can’t get the sack, they must pressure and hurry his progressions. As solid as a quarterback and runner, Allen tends to make mistakes, so the Dolphins should be looking to punch the ball out of rush attempts. Edge rushers Jaelan Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah will be key in forcing Allen out of being comfortable in the pocket.
Hopefully, Weaver has plans for his linebackers in the second level with Allen tucks and runs. First-year Miami linebacker Jordyn Brooks will be huge in this game to help slow Allen down, as will running back James Cook. The Defensive line of Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell must also be on top of their game, as each was in Week 1.
Offensively for the Dolphins, the identity of shying away from short-yardage rushing attempts on third down could also dissipate. Head coach Mike McDaniel was one of the least likely to run the ball in third/fourth and short situations last season. However, on three separate occasions last week, he ran up the middle on third and one. Two times converted to first downs from fullback Alec Ingold, and the other led to a goal-line touchdown from running back De’Von Achane.
The Dolphins must continue the hard-nosed concept of picking up short yardage via the run. This will take a lot of pressure off of Tua Tagovailoa and set up big plays throughout the game. Tyreek Hill and/or Jaylen Waddle could benefit from those big plays. The prolific pair of receivers each hit 100 yards last week against the Jaguars, the seventh time the teammates have done so in the same game.
Three more games of each hitting the 100-plus yards mark would make them the top duo in NFL history in this metric. However, Hill has yet to hit 100 yards in his career against the Bills, and Waddle has hit the century mark twice against the rivals. Beyond the usual suspects on offense, the Dolphins will be without veteran running back Raheem Mostert. With Achane a game-time decision, Jeff Wilson and rookie Jaylen Wright could be called upon heavily.
Last but certainly not least is the Dolphins’ offensive line performance. Collectively and individually, they graded out fairly well against Jackson last week. Tackles Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson were the only teammates tackles in the NFL last week, and each grade was in the top 10 on the line last week, as per Pro Football Focus. Guard Liam Eichenberg hit the 80 mark in his grade, and center Aaron Brewer was outstanding.
Not to be forgotten is the clutch kicking of Jason Sanders. He helped Miami walk off with a Week 1 win on his game-winning 52-yard field goal. He is now 7-7 in his career in kicks under 1:00 in a game. He has also hit 11 consecutive kicks in under 2:00 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, the longest such streak in the NFL. Punter Jake Bailey was excellent against the Jaguars, flipping the field and averaging 48.8 net yards a punt.
The Dolphins will need a complete performance on Thursday night if they want to start a new era in this heated divisional rivalry. It is now time for the Dolphins to flip the script on the team that has had their number for nearly a decade. The Dolphins and Bill kick off from Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday night on Amazon Prime at 8:15 PM Eastern Standard Time.
