Week 2 presents the Miami Dolphins with a fantastic opportunity to show how much they have improved since last year and how much they have closed the gap between themselves and the Buffalo Bills. Miami
has lost 5 straight to the Bills including a 56-26 mauling in week 17 back in January.
Despite the Dolphins winning in week 1 while the Bills lost to the Steelers, the Bills are still a 3.5 point favorite this week even though the game is being played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
So how does Miami beat Buffalo, you ask? Well, the normal givens are still a given. Control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Win the turnover battle. Commit fewer penalties. And don’t settle for field goals. But here is what else the Dolphins will need to do to beat the Bills this week.
1 – Stop Josh Allen. OK, stopping Allen is probably too much to ask,
but how about slowing him down a bit. Last year in the first game between the two teams, Allen threw for 417 yards with 4 touchdown passes. In the January blowout, despite only playing a half of the game, he threw for 224 yards and 3 TDs. The Fins can’t allow those type of performances to happen again if they want to win this week.
If the Fins want to slow down Allen, they might want to follow the game plan the Steelers used in week 1. Pittsburgh, for the most part, rushed four players and dropped seven into coverage. They only blitzed on 2% of the plays. For a good portion of the game, they played six defensive backs. As a result, they were able to do a good job covering
the Bills’ receivers and they prevented the big plays. If you want to beat the Bills, you can’t have Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and Emmanuel Sanders catching passes for 30+ yards.
Obviously one of the keys to the above approach is having the front four provide a consistent pass rush. They don’t necessarily need to rack up a ton of sacks, but they can’t allow Allen to have all day in the pocket to find a receiver. If the Fins have to blitz 1 or 2 guys to provide pressure, that results in 1 or 2 fewer defenders to cover the Bills wideouts and will likely result in some big plays.
2 – Swing big on offense. I’m not advocating throwing 50 yard bombs
all game long, but there is a reason Miami signed Will Fuller and drafted Jaylen Waddle in the first round. They, along with fellow wideout Albert Wilson, can stretch defenses with their speed in addition to adding yards after catch with their running ability. Miami needs to get the ball in their hands and some of the throws need to be 20-40 yards
downfield.
There is no point in having those playmakers, not to mention other playmakers DeVante Parker & Mike Gesicki, if you don’t put them in position to make some big plays. The offensive line will also need to give QB Tua Tagovailoa an extra second or two for those long passes downfield.
That’s it! If they can slow down Allen and swing big on offense the Fins should end up in the winner’s circle. And, oh yeah, control the line of scrimmage, win the turnover battle, minimize the penalties and get touchdowns, not field goals. Easy-peasy!
