Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills Week 15 Five Biggest Storylines
The Miami Dolphins will look to improve to 9-5 on the season when they face the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night.
Ahead of the matchup, we offer our weekly ranking and analysis of the five biggest storylines:
1. Watching the Weather
If you talk to folks in Buffalo, they’ll tell you the intense South Florida heat was a factor when the Dolphins defeated the Bills at Hard Rock Stadium in September, but now it’s their turn to get weather conditions with which they’re more accustomed. We became familiar this week with the term “lake effect snow” and the possibility is that we could have blizzard-like conditions that are going to make for pretty TV viewing but maybe not optimum football. And, yes, this game could come down to which team handles the element better. Or maybe Highmark Stadium will be spared heavy snow and it will be just another December game in Buffalo.
2. Can the Dolphins Get the Passing Game Back on Track?
The weather conditions might not make this easy, but the Dolphins need to get more consistent production out of their passing game after the two disappointing performances against the 49ers and Chargers. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was off the mark against San Francisco and seemed to try to force too many passes downfield against L.A., so maybe weather conditions forcing both teams to throw shorter passes wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Dolphins.
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3. Protecting Tua
It’s probably a good thing that no reporter brought this up during Tua Tagovailoa’s media session this week because it would have brought back bad memories, but facing the Bills literally has been painful for him. In his last three starts against Buffalo, Tua sustained broken ribs after being drilled by A.J. Epenesa, he sustained an injury to his throwing hand in the Halloween 2021 game, and we don’t need to remind Dolphins fans about the Matt Milano hit and its aftermath during the Week 3 game this season. The Bills don’t have Von Miller anymore this season, but their pass rush really hasn’t dipped very much since he was injured. If the Dolphins are going to have success on offense, they need to protect their quarterback.
4. Spotlight on the Special Teams
Seems like we highlight the special teams every week in this spot, but it could be particularly significant in a game where wind and snow could be a factor. Punter Thomas Morstead had one of the biggest plays of the game in the Week 3 meeting with his incredible free kick after the “butt punt,” and it might take more big plays from the kicking game for the Dolphins to pull off the upset.
5. The Dolphins defense vs. Josh Allen
The Dolphins are coming off a game where Chargers QB Justin Herbert was the best player on the field, but the defense at the very least didn’t make it easy on him with constant pressure that flushed him out of the pocket and made him make the tough throws. The Dolphins need that same kind of effort against Josh Allen, who has been really tough on him since entering the league in 2018. It’s also important to remember the Dolphins shut down Allen at Highmark Stadium in the first half of last season, but the defense wasn’t able to take advantage and the result was a 3-3 halftime score before the Bills went on to a 26-11 victory. Hard as it might be, the Dolphins need that kind of effort for the full game.
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