Week 15: Bills vs. Dolphins
at
Sunday, Dec. 17th
1:00pm ET
The Bills wrap up a three game homestand with their home finale against division rival Miami. They take on the Dolphins twice in the final three weeks and they are expected to have Tyrod Taylor back while Miami comes in flying high after an upset win over the Patriots kept their playoff hopes alive.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Matchup: Buffalo (7-6) vs. Miami (6-7)
Place: New Era Field
TV/Radio: Network: CBS; DirecTV: 705; Sirius: 145; SiriusXM: 228
Announcers: Beth Mowins and Jay Feely
Spread: Bills by 3½
Series: Dolphins lead 59-42-1 (Bills 3-1 in playoffs)
Streak: Dolphins Won 2
Last Meeting: Dolphins 34-31 in OT in Buffalo (2016)
Dolphins Offense Rush (29th); Pass (19th); overall (28th)
Dolphins Defense Rush (15th); Pass (14th); overall (16th)
Bills Offense Rush (6th); Pass (31st); overall (26th)
Bills Defense Rush (27th); Pass (17th); overall (23rd)


INJURY UPDATE

The Bills are pretty healthy for this late in the season. Both injured quarterbacks look like they will be good to go and Taylor should start. John Miller is still battling an ankle injury and Kelvin Benjamin is still battling a knee injury.

The Dolphins have been without a guard Jermon Bushrod for over a month with a foot injury. C Mike Pouncey is battling a hip injury costing him some practice time. QB Matt Moore is sidelined with a foot injury. DE Andre Branch is battling a knee injury. DT Ndamukong Suh has a knee injury making him missing practice time. These are just some of the names on Miami's injury report as they come in on a short week after playing on Monday night.

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

KEY MATCHUPS

RT Jordan Mills vs. DE Cameron Wake:
Mills continues to struggle as a starter and his job is real tough this week as Wake has eight sacks on the season.

C Eric Wood vs. DT Ndamukong Suh:
Wood will be looking to keep Suh from clogging the middle and wreaking havoc in the backfield.

RB LeSean McCoy vs. LB Kiko Alonso:
Alonso and McCoy will forever be linked since they were traded for each other and there is some bad blood there. McCoy is running real well right now and Alonso is near the top on his team in tackles. Should be quite a battle.

DT Kyle Williams vs. RB Kenyan Drake:
This could be Williams last home game in a long, storied career in Buffalo. He would like to go out on a high note so he will have to clog the middle to shutdown the running game. Drake has performed pretty well since the trade of Jay Ajayi.

KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Takeaways: The Bills have stopped taking the football away in the 2nd half of the season. That trend needs to change this week if the Bills want to win what will likely be a close game.

2. Good Gap Containment: The defense needs to have good gap containment to keep the running game in check and make Jay Cutler beat them.

3. Keep Taylor Clean: Taylor may be back under center but his knee isn't 100 percent that means they need to keep him from getting knocked around which won't be easy with Miami's very good defensive front four.

BILLS DAILY PREDICTION

This is the biggest game of the season as both teams need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Dolphins are flying high but the Bills should be ready for them in their home finale. I think the Bills find a way to squeak out the win:
Bills 23, Dolphins 21

Season Prediction Record: (7-6)
Season Record Against The Spread: (5-6-2)

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