For all their bluster entering Week 2 of the NFL season, the Buffalo Bills were made to look like a bunch of losers by a terrific New England Patriots team that beat Rex Ryan’s crew on Sunday, 40-32. The Bills seek a quick turnaround when they make a stop down in South Beach, where the Miami Dolphins will welcome Buffalo for their first home game of the season.
Line: Buffalo Bills (+3) at Miami Dolphins (-3); total: 43.0 – see all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Buffalo Bills
[sc:NFL240banner ]No, the Bills are still not on par with New England. The Bills have ways to go before they can upstage Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the AFC East. Buffalo can try its luck again against the Pats on Week 11, but for now, the Bills have to prepare for another division rival in the form of Miami.
The Bills, whose defense was the talk of the town a year ago when they limited opponents to just 205.8 passing yards per game, was embarrassed by Brady on Sunday. Brady went off for 466 passing yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Furthermore, the Bills’ secondary was burned by four Patriots, who had at least 87 receiving yards.
Ryan Tannehill is no Tom Brady, but the Dolphins quarterback can get the job done nonetheless if the Bills show up with another lousy effort against the pass. After all, Tannehill threw for 240 yards (26 of 34) with two touchdowns and no picks in a 22-9 win over Buffalo last year.
Two of the Bills’ top three pass rushers in Jerry Hughes and Mario Williams, however, showed signs of life in the Pats’ game after combining for zero sacks in Week 1 against Indianapolis. The duo each earned their respective first sacks of the season last Sunday.
Offensively, the Bills fared better late in the game against New England, putting up 19 points in the fourth period in a failed comeback bid.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor had 242 passing yards and three touchdowns, but weighed the team down with three interceptions. Perhaps another solid output from the tandem of LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams over in the backfield will help free up some more space for Taylor to operate in the pocket. McCoy is still looking for his first touchdowns this season after rushing for 89 yards against the Pats. Williams, on the other hand, had 21 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Buffalo is 3-1 SU and ATS in its last four games against the Dolphins.
After splitting its first two games of the season, Miami finally gets its first home game of the season when it plays host to the Bills. The Dolphins are 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS in their last five home games.
In Week 2, the Dolphins failed to record back-to-back wins to open their season, as they lost to Jacksonville, 23-20. Ryan Tannehill, however, had a good game against the Jaguars. The fourth-year quarterback passed for 359 yards and two touchdowns without an interception on 30 of 44 attempts. Wide receiver Rishard Matthews, meanwhile, had a breakout game in the Jaguars game, as he burned rubber for 115 rushing yards on six carries. Although he didn’t score a touchdown, he has nonetheless solidified his role as a starter.
With a running game that has averaged just 58.0 yards in the first two games, the Dolphins are likely to lean on Tannehill and his downfield weapons again against Buffalo. Perhaps increasing rookie DeVante Parker’s role to their offense would help spread out the attention of Buffalo’s defense. Parker, who had 855 receiving yards and five touchdowns for Louisville in 2014, only managed to get just three yards on one reception against Jacksonville.
Miami’s pass rush, which devastated opposing quarterbacks last season with 39.0 sacks, has yet to make its presence felt thus far this year. Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon have zero sacks in two games after combining for 18.0 last season.
