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Week 15: Bills vs. Miami
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Sunday, Dec. 19th
1:00pm ET
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The Bills get out of the snow this weekend in South Florida as they make their annual visit to Miami. The Dolphins are coming off a big win at the new Meadowlands stadium to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. They have struggled at home this year winning just once in six games. QB Chad Henne has lost six straight at Sun Life Stadium. The Bills look to play spoiler as they close the season with a three game stretch of division matchups.
FACTS AND FIGURES
| Matchup: |
Buffalo (3-10) vs. Miami (7-6) |
| Place: |
Sun Life Stadium |
| TV/Radio: |
Network: CBS; DirecTV: 706; Sirius: 144 |
| Announcers: |
Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon |
| Spread: |
Dolphins by 6 |
| Series: |
Dolphins lead 53-35-1 (Bills 3-1 in playoffs) |
| Streak: |
Dolphins Won 1 |
| Last Meeting: |
Dolphins 15-10 in Buffalo (2010) |
| Dolphins Offense: |
Rush (20th); Pass (17th); overall (22nd) |
| Dolphins Defense: |
Rush (7th); Pass (6th); overall (5th) |
| Bills Offense: |
Rush (12th); Pass (25th); overall (26th) |
| Bills Defense: |
Rush (32nd); Pass (4th); overall (23rd) |
INJURY UPDATE
The Bills will be without Geoff Hangartner, Lee Evans, and Shawn Nelson. Evans and Nelson have been placed on season ending injury lists. Eric Wood will play center again this week for Hangartner.
The Dolphins lost OT Vernon Carey for the rest of the year after injuring his knee against the Jets. WR Brian Hartline was placed on IR before the Jets game. Other than that, they are healthy.
Check out our  Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.
KEY MATCHUPS
LB Paul Posluszny vs. RBs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams:
For the Bills to have a chance they need to shutdown the run. That won't be easy with Miami's two headed monster in Brown and Williams. Both backs have had big games in the past against the Bills. They combined for 127 yards in the opening day Miami win in Buffalo.
C Eric Wood vs. NT Paul Soliai:
Wood is coming off a solid first start at center. It doesn't get easier going against a prototypical big nose tackle in Soliai who is having a very solid season in Miami. He has two sacks.
LT Demetrius Bell vs. OLB Cameron Wake:
Wake chose Miami over Buffalo when he came down from the CFL. Another close loss for the Bills as they could really use Wake who has developed into one of the premier pass rushers in the league. He leads the entire NFL with 14 sacks. It will be tough going for Bell who gave up his first two sacks of the season last week.
CB Drayton Florence vs. WR Brandon Marshall:
Florence will likely line up against Marshall since that is the side he usually lines up. He caught 8 passes on opening day so the Bills need to do a better job against him.
LB Chris Kelsay vs. RT Lydon Murtha:
With Carey on injured reserve the former seventh round pick Murtha is the new starter. Kelsay has played much better in the past month and may be able to cause havoc in the backfield against the young player.
WR Stevie Johnson vs. CB Vontae Davis:
It will be interesting to watch Johnson without Evans in the lineup. He will now get double teamed which will make it more difficult to make plays. His main matchup will be with 2nd year pro Davis who is developing into a really nice player.
GAME PLAN
When The Bills Have The Ball: How do they attack a team that is well balanced on defense? Look for the Bills to try and establish the ground game since they are short at wide receiver because of injuries. They may also try to throw more to the tight ends since they have as many of them as they do wideouts.
When The Dolphins Have The Ball: They will likely run all day long with Brown and Williams until the Bills figure out a way to stop them.
BILLS DAILY PREDICTION
One thing seems certain, this will be a low scoring affair. The Bills should be able to keep it close since Miami isn't strong at home or on offense. The Dolphins desperately need the win to keep their playoff hopes alive and they will find a way to pull it out:
Dolphins 13, Bills 10
Season Prediction Record: (10-3)
Season Record Against The Spread: (7-6)
Bills Blitz - Coming Monday Morning!
No Gameday Grades this week only! They will return next week.
Gameday Homepage
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