(Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USAToday Sports)
The Miami Dolphins will face off against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium, looking to bounce back from a rough 21-11 loss against the New England Patriots. The Bills are coming off of a strong win against the New York Jets, defeating them by a score of 27-17.
Quick Look: Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are still in the process of rebuilding, so many expected their performance to be less than perfect. With that being said, it was still a very underwhelming performance even by those standards.
Defense
The defense was dominated by Cam Newton. That was the main headline. Newton had his way with the team on the ground, carrying the ball 15 times for 75 yards. It defined that entire side of the ball, as the Dolphins appeared completely unprepared for Newton’s mobility. It opened up the running game for the Patriots, who finished with 217 yards on the ground.
As for pass defense, it was hard to evaluate the Dolphins because the Patriots hardly had to push the ball downfield. Edelman led the way for New England, mostly burning Jamal Perry. The rest of their secondary appeared to do their job well, with a solid performance from rookie Brandon Jones.
Kyle Van Noy said that the teams performance against the run was unacceptable.
“We gave up 217 yards rushing,” he said. “We should be criticized.”
Former Bill Shaq Lawson said that Josh Allen will bring a lot of the same skills that Cam Newton utilized against the Dolphins.
“That guy got better every year. I’ve seen the development. He’s a dog, I said that when I was there. He’s a dog. He looks 10 times better.”
He also added that Allen is faster than Newton.
Offense
The offensive side was highlighted by Ryan Fitzpatrick’s poor outing, maybe undeservingly. By the end of the game though, the verdict was undeniable, the offense looked pretty bad – – but, that was after DeVante Parker went down. Parker was having a respectable day before leaving the game with a hamstring injury, totaling 47 yards on four catches. The offense looked a lot better with him on the field.
As we have seen with Sammy Watkins and Adam Thielen several times, hamstring injuries can be tricky and flair up. Even if DeVante Parker suits up on Sunday, this is an injury that can easily pop up again, or force the team to use him as a decoy, which would be a massive loss for the Dolphins.
After Parker went down, the lack of receiver depth for the Dolphins really showed. They were unable to get any separation against a tough NE secondary, which won’t be much easier against a very tough Bills squad.
Considering the offensive line consists of two rookies that did not have preseason games, and two veteran additions in their first game with the team – – they didn’t look bad at all. Fitzpatrick was only sacked once, but once again, this Bills defense is a force. This one may be just as tough, if not tougher.
The Dolphins got some good production last week from Myles Gaskin. A few of the Dolphins beat writers have said that he could secure the role if he can get another good performance against Buffalo. His versatility in both the pass game and run game seems to play a large part in his expanded role. If I had to guess, Matt Breida should be involved here as well, but Jordan Howard’s role on this team may be in jeopardy if Gaskin leads the team in touches again.
With the Bills having some injuries at the linebacker position, it may be possible for Gaskin to have a similar stat line this week, or even better.
Bills offense
The Bills offense looked, in some ways, pretty similar to the Patriots last week. Their starting quarterback led the team in rushing yards, ran at will, and didn’t have to force the ball downfield. The difference, the Bills didn’t shy away from passing the ball – – throwing the ball 46 times, leading to Allen having his first 300-yard passing game of his career.
Josh Allen, like Newton, was thriving by running read option plays. Unlike Newton though, he wasn’t strictly running towards the sideline. There were plenty of designed run plays for Allen where he took the ball straight up the center of the field.
Josh Allen had an extremely productive day, but it wasn’t perfect. He had two very costly fumbles, and missed two wide open touchdowns in the end zone. His accuracy issue is still still, and he needs to learn to slide.
Devin Singletary and Zach Moss were the main RBs but they couldn’t get anything going, combining for 41 yards. I will say though, these guys are quick, especially Moss. With the Dolphins problems tackling, I’m worried it may only take a mistake or two for these guys to have big performances.
(Sep 13, 2020; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) runs with the ball after a catch past New York Jets linebacker Harvey Langi (44) during the third quarter at Bills Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)
The receiver group here is also pretty underrated. The Bills added Stefon Diggs, who had a solid debut with 86 yards receiving on eight catches. While Diggs is still great with blockers in front of him, and one of the better route runners in the league, his one on one matchup this week with either Howard or Jones will be a lot tougher than against the Jets.
John brown is having a great career with the Bills. Coming off his first 1,000 yard season, Brown finished with 70 yards and a TD last week. Same thing as with Diggs, I’m not sure Allen has the accuracy to test this secondary on deep one-on-one situations when throwing to Brown. However, his TD came on a stream where he showed off his impressive acceleration. I am very concerned about the Bills utilizizing WR screens, with Diggs, Brown, Beasley and Gabriel Davis.
Bills Defense
Across the board, the Bills defense is a unit. Their defensive line was applying pressure at will. Was it against the Jets? Yeah, but I’m not sure the Dolphins offensive line is a drastic enough improvement over them to suggest they can neutralize the Bills pressure.
It will be a tough day for everyone across the board. The Bills seem to like sending pressure through the A gaps, while having their linebackers showing blitz only to drop back in coverage. Jerry Hughes was dominating last week at getting around the edge, which should be a tough matchup for Jesse Davis. Ed Oliver is an absolute force.
It’s important to note, Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, who both were everywhere on the field for the Bills, left the game with injuries. They are considered day-to-day. If either of them miss this game, that would be huge for the Dolphins.
Now for their secondary, you know who the guys are for the Bills.
Tre’Davious White is elite. Micah Hyde is great. Both of those guys will be doing their thing. Jordan Poyer can also put up good games.
Josh Norman was placed on IR, and Levi Wallace and Taron Johnson stepped up last Week in his place. Now, important to note the Jets have one of the weakest group of receivers in the entire NFL. If Parker is out there playing, good, either him or Preston Williams should have a decent matchup.
But, if Parker can’t go, it’s possible that the Dolphins can’t take advantage of whoever is opposite of Tre’Davious White.
Expectations
The Dolphins offensive line struggles.
Now, I can’t say with certainty they will get absolutely demolished – – but the Bills front is explosive. I don’t think saying they will struggle against them is much of a stretch, and frankly if they play well, you should be over the moon.
Josh Allen throws at least one interception – – but the Bills running game steps up.
While I admit Allen had a good outing last week, he took some chances that would not work against Xavien Howard and Byron Jones. Diggs and Brown are still his primary targets, his accuracy isn’t the best, and he makes plenty of risky throws on the run – – to me that adds up to a game with several interceptions.
If Parker sits out, Jakeem Grant leads the Dolphins in receiving
The Chan Gailey offense is already one that heavily emphasizes playmakers getting yards after the catch. If Parker is out, that greatly holds back the Dolphins ability to throw over the top. I think they will recognize that, and could capitalize off some screens to Grant, who has absolute burners. That seemed to be the only play that worked last week for the Jets. Grant’s ability to create space is also underrated.
Zack Moss has a big day
This is mostly based on eye-test for me. Zack Moss just looks like the type of player that Miami struggles with, based on his elusiveness, power and speed. It was initially thought that Singletary would take over the receiving back duties, but Moss still had some opportunities to see passes thrown his way. I could see him capitalizing as the safety valve for Josh Allen. His ability to hit the hole hard makes me think he could chip away at the Dolphins defense.
Keys to Victory
Stop the run. Now, if Allen runs all over the Dolphins, the game could easily follow the exact same script. I think the bare minimum expectation is that the Dolphins address the QB run issue, and at least limit his legs. They can’t let it define the game like Newton last week. But even then, if this is a game where Devin Singletary and Zack Moss combine for over 150 yards, which I think is entirely possible, it will be hard for the Dolphins to win.
Be more creative on offense. I don’t know what it’s going to take, and the Dolphins options aren’t the greatest if Parker can’t go, but there needs to be some creativity. Whether it’s by motioning, using sweep players, getting playmakers the ball on screens, the offense will need to bring some sort of spark to this game.
Contain the short passes. Again, Brown and Diggs are underrated – – but I have a high level of trust in Jones and Howard. Now, whether it’s Igbinoghene, Perry, Jones or whoever – – they can’t let this be a game where Josh Allen can’t dink and dump these underneath routes to Beasley, Davis and Moss. Especially with the poor tackling we saw last week, these short passes can easily turn into big plays and kill any momentum.