New York State In-depth

Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills Wild Card Preview and Prediction

The Miami Dolphins will be looking for their first playoff win since 2000 when they take on the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the NFL playoffs at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.

Here’s all the pertinent information, along with a final score prediction, for this Super Wild Card Weekend Dolphins Bills matchup:

MIAMI DOLPHINS (9-8) vs. BUFFALO BILLS (13-3)

DATE: Saturday January 15th

TIME: 1 p.m. ET

PAGE? site: Highmark Stadium; Orchard Park, New York

WEATHER FORECAST: The forecast for Orchard Park, NY between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET on Sunday calls for temperatures of 27 to 28 degrees, with sunny skies and a precipitation probability of just 2 percent, according to The Weather Channel. Only wind speeds of 4 km/h are expected.

TV: CBS

Announcer: Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (color analyst), Tracy Wolfson (side hustle)

STREAM: fuboTV (start free trial)

SI Sportsbook Betting Line: Bills up to 13.5 (over/under 43.5)

Final Injury Report:

Delphine – RB Raheem Mostert (thumb) is QB Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) is out; OL Liam Eichenberg (hand) is doubtful; T Terron Armstead (toe/chest/knee/hip), QB Teddy Bridgewater (knee/right finger), LB Bradley Chubb (ankle/hand), FB Alec Ingold (thumb), T Kendall Lamm (ankle), T Brandon Shell ( knee/ankle) and WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. (hip/groin) are questionable.

Bills – WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) and DT Jordan Phillips (shoulder) are questionable.

————————————————– —————————————

For MORE coverage of the Miami Dolphins, visit Sports Illustrated’s Miami Dolphins page on SI.COM

————————————————– —————————————

Regular Season Series History: The Dolphins lead 61-50-1

Playoff History: The Bills lead 3-1

Playoff Meetings:

January 2, 1999 in Miami (wild card round) – Dolphins 24, Bills 17

December 30, 1995 in Buffalo (wild card round) – Bills 37, Dolphins 22

January 17, 1993 in Miami (AFC Championship Game) – Bills 29, Dolphins 10

January 12, 1991 in Buffalo (split round) – Bills 44, Dolphins 34

Former Bills players with the Dolphins:

DT Justin Zimmer (IR)

Former Bills coaches at the Dolphins:

Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman, Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville

Former Dolphins players with the Bills:

RB Duke Johnson (on practice team), DE Shaq Lawson, DT Jordan Phillips

Former Dolphins coaches at the Bills:

none

————————————————– ——————

INVOICE SCOUTING REPORT

The Bills will enter the playoffs as sentimental favorites for any fan whose team isn’t in contention after what happened that Monday night game in Cincinnati, and it just so happens that the Bills have all the pieces to make a deep playoff to run. Buffalo won its last seven games of the regular season, with Monday night’s game canceled on January 2 following the incident involving Bill’s safety Damar Hamlin. Now that Hamlin has been discharged from hospital it probably shouldn’t surprise anyone if he was at Highmark Stadium on Sunday, which would only add to the already crazy atmosphere. Intangibles aside, Buffalo is loaded, starting with QB Josh Allen and a defense that ranked first in the NFL for yards allowed.

————————————————– ——————

THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN…

Of course, it won’t be an easy task given the huge point distribution, but let’s not forget that the Dolphins defeated Buffalo this season. The Dolphins were outplayed 497-212 that day, but the defense came out big in key moments, setting up a 6-yard touchdown drive when Jevon Holland had a sack strip and Melvin Ingram regained the fumble. To be sure, the dolphins would need a snack or two on defense to help matters. Offensively, this is Skylar Thompson’s big opportunity, and it would be a huge boost if he could keep the Pro Bowl left in the lineup against Terron Armstead, which looks more promising after his Friday practice. While last weekend’s game plan was very conservative against the New York Jets with Thompson as quarterback, the Dolphins are looking to take on the Bills and this is where Thompson has to get by with some connections to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE…

Again, we just need to look at the point distribution. The odds makers clearly don’t think this is going to be a very close game. The biggest problem for the Dolphins will be containing Josh Allen, who has proved an almost impossible challenge since entering the NFL. While the Dolphins managed to split in the regular season, Allen had six touchdown passes against no interceptions, not to mention his 44-yard rush in the Dec. 18 matchup. On the other hand, there’s no guarantee Armstead will play despite Friday’s practice, and it’s fair to ask how effective offense can be with a seventh-round rookie pick at quarterback.

FINAL DOLPHINS BILLS PREDICTION

The Dolphins didn’t make the playoffs very often in the 2000s, and on those rare occasions the results were hugely disappointing. Not only have the Dolphins lost their last four playoff games, what’s really bad is that the lead in those games was 27, 17, 18, and 18. Oops! Unfortunately, everything seems set for this type of game with the Dolphins suffering so many key injuries against a Buffalo team that is as healthy as it has been all season. But the reality is, the 2022 Dolphins haven’t been blown out once this season, even in the games they lost 40-17 and 33-17, because they had chances to win in the fourth quarter every time. Skylar Thompson didn’t look very impressive against the Jets last Sunday, but it seemed pretty clear he was given the task of just not turning the ball over. He’s being asked to do more in this game and we feel he can deliver to an extent. And the defense has enough good players to keep things interesting for a while. Let’s not forget that the Dolphins could easily have won that Saturday night game in Buffalo in December, but not because Josh Allen was just that good. It may not be quite as good this time, giving the dolphins more chances. That is of course asking a lot and maybe also wishful thinking. The Dolphins have been competitive all season and here it is they will be competitive this season before Buffalo pulls away in the fourth quarter. Bills 30, dolphins 16.

Comments are closed.