ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills face a familiar foe in the Miami Dolphins for a week two divisional matchup on Thursday night.
The Channel 2 sports team each gives a key to the game before things get underway inside Hard Rock Stadium.
Jon Scott: Bills pass rush
I’m going back to the well for the biggest x-factor I think for this entire Bills defense. In the 1st half against Arizona Sunday, there was very little if any pressure put on Kyler Murray when he dropped back to pass. 2nd half, different story and the overall performance of the D vastly improved. Greg Rousseau was the catalyst, registering a career-high 3 sacks en route to earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. It’s obvious Rousseau won’t be bringing the QB down that much week in and week out, but if he can continue to ascend into a pass rusher envisioned as a 1st round pick, the entire dynamic of the defensive front and defense as a whole shifts. Heck, even Von Miller got his first sack since suffering a torn ACL on Thanksgiving 2022.
This is even more of a talking point when playing against Tua Tagovailoa. Everything is about timing for Tagovailoa, getting the ball out of his hand faster than anybody in the NFL. However, as we’ve seen the Bills do in the past, if Tua is forced to hold onto the ball even a little bit longer, things can go south quick. Rousseau, Miller, A.J. Epenesa, and others off the edge must generate a pressure while DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver need to push the pocket right in front of Tagovailoa to knock him off his spot.
While the Dolphins will never abandon the run game, they already know they’ll be down Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane is a game-time decision, so it’s truly digging deep into the depth chart in the Miami backfield. Maybe the Bills can neutralize that and really pin their ears back to try and disrupt things for Tagovailoa and the passing attack.
Jonathan Acosta: Bills run game (minus Josh Allen)
Right out of the gate, offensive coordinator Joe Brady showed a commitment to running the ball, a trend that carried over from last season once he took over in an interim role.
In the season opener against the Cardinals, the Bills had 33 carries to just 23 pass attempts for Josh Allen. James Cook led the way with 71 rush yards as the team ran for 130 yards at 3.9 yards per rush.
This week, that run game takes on added importance, especially taking into consideration the status of Josh Allen’s left hand. Allen injured it when flipping into the end zone for the second of his two rushing touchdowns against Arizona.
Its reasonable to assume that Sean McDermott and the Bills coaching staff will want Allen to more cautious than normal with his scrambling.
That scrambling ability was crucial for Buffalo the last time it faced Miami in the Week 18 showdown last season for the AFC East crown. The Bills struggled to run the ball as a team, with Allen finishing as the team’s leading rusher with 67 yards on 15 carries. Cook managed just 39 yards on 13 carries.
This week in South Florida, it’ll be important for the Bills not just to continue their commitment to establishing the run, but to do so in a more effective manner than they did the last time they visited Hard Rock Stadium. We know Cook will get plenty of touches, but how much more of Ray Davis will we see after the flashes he showed Week 1? And do we maybe see a sprinkle of Curtis Samuel getting handoffs, an aspect of his game often discussed during the offseason.
The mantra of the Bills passing attack has been ‘everybody eats’ but the team will need that to be the case on the ground this week as well.
Lindsey Moppert: Let James Cook (Part 2)
I said it last week, and I will say it again. Let James Cook.
In a game where the Bills are coming off a short week of rest and Josh Allen is looking to minimize the severity of the injury he suffered to his left hand on Sunday, the run game can play a crucial role against the Dolphins.
Last week against the Cardinals, James Cook rushed for 71 yards as the Bills reached 130 total, averaging over four yards a carry. Rookie running back Ray Davis also played a role in those numbers as he carried three times for 13 yards and caught one target for 14 yards. On the other hand, the Dolphins allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to rush for 128 total yards averaging 4.9 yards per attempt.
If the Bills can continue to commit to the run game and keep Miami's explosive offense off the field, there is chance for Cook and Davis to play a huge role in the outcome of this divisional battle.
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