(Photo: Clutchpoints)
AFC Game Of The Week
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Bills: Time has certainly changed, hasn’t it? After four games, they were considered to be the best team in the AFC, after that, they slipped up in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars and even had an abysmal last few seconds against the New England Patriots. After the Eagles game, many threw the towel in on them. They’re a 6-6 team at that time and the chances of making the playoffs are so slim. Whenever a team is in that position, I always say it just takes one game to get yourself in prime position and that’s exactly what happened on December 10th, 2023 in Kansas City when they defeated the Chiefs. After that game, they played the Dallas Cowboys and simply punched them in the mouth. Many of you have followed me closely over the years and either have read this written on the site or heard me say it on the radio and that the Bills establishing a running game and they ran for 286 yards on Dallas. Since the loss to the Eagles, the Bills have won their last four games. The game in week 17 against the Patriots went exactly as planned and I say that because one, divisional games are always tough. It doesn’t matter where the opponent maybe in the standings, they will still give you a fight and New England gave them all they could handle. The only issue I have with this team is the consistent inability to take care of the football. A radio associate of mine, T.J. Hopkins will often refer to a Quarterback who consistently throws interceptions as “Mr. Give You One” meaning they’ll give the other team the ball back. It’s almost safe to give Josh that title. If he can get that interception issue under wraps, they’ll be fine. On Sunday night, they will end the regular season at Hard Rock.
Dolphins: I’ve been vocal about them all year long. Are they a good team? Yes they are. Mike McDaniel is a good coach when he’s not making questionable play calls. The one issue I have with them is they are a football team that can’t handle physicality and when you punch them in the mouth, they fold and unfortunately can never recover. That was on full display on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore when they played the Ravens in a battle of the top records in the AFC. Yes, the Dolphins were able to score early on, but after that, it was all Baltimore and they couldn’t never get it together. They are a finesse team and to beat a finesse group, you take them out of their element and that’s exactly what happened. The Ravens put up 56 points on the Dolphins en route to clinching the top seed in the AFC. This was by far the worst I’ve seen Miami look this year and the worst they’ve looked since the week four loss to the Buffalo Bills, a week after scoring 70 on the Denver Broncos. One thing I’ve been happy to see is Tua Tagovailoa remaining healthy and you see the difference having a healthy guy makes. Around this time last year, Tua was in and out of the lineup with countless injuries and now, with him healthy and in the lineup, the team is sitting in a prime position not only to win their division, but to potentially finish with the two seed in the AFC Playoff Picture. Being healthy does indeed make a difference I always say. This Sunday night, it comes down to one final game for the division title and they will return home for a showdown with the Bills.
Bills X-Factor: Greg Rousseau– He’s one of the catalysts of the Buffalo defensive front. Gregory is a freak athlete and you can tell Von Miller has taught him a few things or two in their time together as teammates. What DeMarcus Ware did for Von is exactly what Von is doing for Gregory. I’ve always liked this guy and the motor he plays with and this dates back to his college days. He has the speed to fly to where he wants. He plays the pass and run with the same energy which is all you can ask of your defensive players. Greg can play with hands in the dirt or line up as the Outside Linebacker.
Dolphins X-Factor: Jevon Holland– I’m a big fan of this Miami secondary. Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard (when healthy) and Jevon Holland is the primary reason why I enjoy watching this group so much. First, Jevon is that magnetic force to the football. Wherever the ball is, he is. Secondly, he’s the hammer to that defense meaning he’s not the guy you want to cross over the middle because he will greet you and lastly, he plays the run well. I can see a little Troy Polamalu in his game with his ability and range to play all over the field.
Final Thoughts: It all comes down to this. This is the first AFC East winner takes all game since 1997. When these two last played, the Dolphins came into the game a week after scoring 70 on the Broncos only to come to Orchard Park to get stifled by the Buffalo Bills by 28 points, 48-20. If Baltimore can light up the Dolphins defense, I know the Bills can for a fact. I always say it, but it’s key to establish your physicality when playing the Dolphins because when you do that, they have a tough time recovering. For Buffalo, I need Josh to take better care of the ball. It’s almost as if you can pencil him in to throw an interception in every game. On the Miami side, I want to see how they step out on the field after the beatdown they took at the hands of Baltimore. Sometimes, body language says everything and I will be monitoring their energy levels early on. Buffalo did a good job neutralizing Tyreek Hill in the first meeting holding him to 58 yards receiving and only three receptions. This was also Josh Allen’s best performance of the year as well. I picked the Bills to win the AFC East at the beginning of the year and I’m sticking with it. They win this game, win the division and clinch the two seed in the AFC Playoffs.
Prediction: Bills 31, Dolphins 21
