ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — First place in the AFC East is on the line on Sunday when the Buffalo Bills battle with the Dolphins.
You get a sense this is a renewed rivalry between Buffalo and Miami, a matchup the Bills have dominated in years past. But the game is coming at a time where Buffalo is a little banged up.
It's a clear concern for the Bills defense, both stud safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde did not practice on Thursday. Their availability is unknown for Sunday.
Starting cornerback Dane Jackson also did not practice. He is recovering from that nasty friendly fire hit in Monday's win over Tennessee.
On the defensive line, Jordan Philips was out as well, recovering from a hamstring injury. Ed Oliver and Tim Settle were back at practice on Thursday.
Good news on the offense: Gabe Davs was out there in full capacity, and he said he's 100 percent ready to play on Sunday, although his ankle was heavily taped.
As far as injuries during a season, one of the best perspectives in the league comes from Von Miller, who experienced both his Super Bowl-winning teams dealing with that type of adversity in each of his championship seasons with the Broncos and Rams.
"That is part of it, man. Every single Super Bowl team that I have been on dealt with injury, going back to the Broncos. Peyton Manning didn't play the last five or six games of the season, he had injury. And going back last year, we had injuries with the Rams, whether that was Matthew Stafford or the offensive line, defensive line or the secondary. You need depth, and you need your core foundation to play well," Miller said.
On top of the defense being banged up, Miami's offense is tearing it up. Tua Tagovailoa has 739 passing yards, the only QB to have over 700 yards in the first two games. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are both in the top 10 in receiving yards as well.
The Bills are back on the practice field on Friday morning.