Week 9: Bills vs. Dolphins
at
Sunday, Nov. 8th
1:00pm ET
The Bills are getting healthy as they come off the bye. Rex Ryan allowed plenty of time for R&R giving the team a full week off. He is looking to change past results after the bye he was 1-5 after the week off while with the Jets. Miami is licking their wounds after running into the Patriots tornado that blew them out. They had been making significant progress since the Bills blew them out earlier this year under interim head coach Dan Campbell.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Matchup: Buffalo (3-4) vs. Miami (3-4)
Place: Ralph Wilson Stadium
TV/Radio: Network: CBS; DirecTV: 705; Sirius: 81; XM: 227
Announcers: Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots
Spread: Bills by 3
Series: Dolphins Lead 57-41-1 (Bills 3-1 in playoffs)
Streak: Bills Won 1
Last Meeting: Bills 41-14 in Miami (2015)
Dolphins Offense: Rush (17th); Pass (15th); overall (15th)
Dolphins Defense: Rush (25th); Pass (19th); overall (24th)
Bills Offense: Rush (11th); Pass (25th); overall (24th)
Bills Defense: Rush (6th); Pass (20th); overall (13th)


INJURY UPDATE

The Bills are getting much healthier as they will be without Kyle Williams who is sidelined with a knee injury and Percy Harvin who has lingering hip problems. They will get Tyrod Taylor back and hope to get Sammy Watkins back as well. Corey Graham is battling an ongoing groin injury that has him limited in practice but he is expected to play. Karlos Williams and Seantrel Henderson are back from concussions.

The Dolphins are pretty banged up and suffered a significant loss against the Patriots besides on the scoreboard. Their premier pass rusher Cameron Wake was lost for the season with a torn Achilles. OT Ja'Wuan James has already been ruled out with a toe injury. WR DeVante Parker and DB Jordan Kovacs also have missed practice time this week. LB Neville Hewitt (Hamstring), CB Brice McCain (Knee), LB Koa Misi (Foot), LB Spencer Paysinger (Shoulder), and RB Damien Williams (Thumb) have been limited in workouts.

Check out our Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.

KEY MATCHUPS

RB LeSean McCoy vs. S ReShad Jones:
McCoy may finally be healthy. He looked good before the bye and now has had time to rest the hamstring. Jones is far and away the leading tackler with the Dolphins as he comes up from the safety position for run support an awful lot.

C Eric Wood vs. DT Ndamukong Suh:
Wood will likely get help from rookie John Miller who is returning to the lineup at right guard. He will need all the help he can get as Suh is starting to flourish with Miami after a slow start to the season.

DE Mario Williams vs. RT Jason Fox:
It's next man up for Miami at right tackle with James sidelined. The six year veteran Fox is that man. He will likely make his seventh career start and his third this year. He played in the first meeting this year between the two teams and struggled. He draws a tough assignment in Super Mario who leads the Bills with a modest three sacks.

LB Preston Brown vs. RB Lamar Miller:
Miller is the main man running the ball for Miami. They are expected to run more with Campbell as the coach. Brown is the man in the middle looking to stop him.

KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Play Disciplined Football: The team needs to keep their emotions in check and play a game without too many mental mistakes. That means they need to keep penalties in check.

2. Pressure Tannehill: They seem to always pressure Tannehill into mistakes. He was on fire until crashing down to earth against New England last week. The Bills need to hit him early so he doesn't gain confidence against a team he usually struggles against.

3. Make Proper Halftime Adjustments: Lost in the shuffle this year is how terrible the Bills have been in the third quarter as they have been outscored 50-14 after the intermission. That doesn't bode well for the job the coaches are doing in the locker room at halftime. Assuming the game is close at the break, they need to come out and grab control in the third quarter.

BILLS DAILY PREDICTION

This is a must win for both teams as the loser will be behind the eight ball as far as making a run at the playoffs. Campbell as resurrected a dying team but they were brought back to earth by the cream of the crop in New England. The Bills aren't in the Patriots class so this looks to be a tough matchup. The rested and healing Bills should have enough in home to pull this game out but it won't be easy:
Bills 23, Dolphins 21

Season Prediction Record: (3-4)
Season Record Against The Spread: (3-4)

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