No Ryan Tannehill? No problem! The Dolphins bucked the absence of their franchise quarterback as they beat the New York Jets, 34-13, in a one-sided showdown at MetLife Stadium on Saturday. Matt Moore stepped up big time in Tannehill’s absence, setting a career-high with four touchdown passes. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 236 yards to help the Dolphins clinch their first winning season since 2008. With Denver’s loss to New England on Sunday, the Dolphins supplanted the Broncos for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC race with two weeks remaining in the schedule.
The Dolphins will look to keep the momentum going when they lock horns with the Buffalo Bills this coming Saturday. The Dolphins will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well against the Bills of late. Miami defeated Buffalo, 28-25, in their first meeting this season. Jay Ajayi starred for the Dolphins in that encounter, rushing for 214 yards on 29 carries. He has been exceptional for the Fins this season, rushing for a whopping 1,007 yards. Ajayi is the 10th player in franchise history to post a 1,000-yard season for Miami. He will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing a Buffalo defensive line that’s allowing 124.4 yards per game on the ground this season, sixth-worst in the NFL.
Even with their 33-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the Bills are still in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season. The Bills narrowly avoided that fate in Week 15 but stayed mathematically in the hunt when the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field.
The Bills will look to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive when they lock horns with the Miami Dolphins this coming Saturday. For the Bills to record the all-important W against the Dolphins, they will need to get another huge performance from LeSean McCoy. He ran for a season-best 153 yards and two scores in the win against Cleveland. McCoy’s rushing total was his highest in two seasons with Buffalo and put him over 1,000 yards for the fifth time in his storied career.
He will fancy his chances of dissecting a Miami defensive line that’s allowing a whopping 132.5 rushing yards per game this season, third-worst in the NFL. McCoy, who’s fourth in the NFL in rushing this season, will look to atone for his atrocious performance against the Bills earlier this season wherein he recorded just 11 yards on eight carries.
