The Miami Dolphins (3-4) head to Ralph Wilson Stadium to play the Buffalo Bills (3-4) this week. A bad season has only gotten worse for Buffalo, as the team has lost three of its last four. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov 8 and will air on CBS.
The last time the Bills and Dolphins met was in Week 3, when Buffalo won big over Miami 41-14. Tyrod Taylor had a good outing through the air in that game, connecting on 21 of 29 pass attempts for 277 yards and three TDs. Rishard Matthews had a standout performance for Miami in that game, grabbing six receptions for 113 yards and two TDs.
The Dolphins are a three-point underdog against the Bills and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 44 points.
Sitting at 3-4 for both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS), the Bills will look to improve heading into Week 9. In their five most recent matchups, the Bills went 2-3 for both SU and ATS. The Dolphins will need a good game plan against the NFL’s fifth-best run defense at home. The Bills give up 81 rushing yards per game at home. There will be plenty of opportunities for the Bills to pick off Miami’s quarterback. The Dolphins currently throw the 28th-most picks per game in the league with 1.3. The Bills hope to continue the trend of repeated strikes against Miami’s defense during the first quarter, when it allow 6.7 points per game.
Across the field, the Dolphins head into Week 9 with records of 3-4 for both ATS and SU. Over their last five games, the Dolphins have a SU and ATS record of 2-3. There’s a good chance that Miami will rely on its passing attack against a defense that allows 286.2 passing yards per home game, ranking 29th in the league. The Dolphins will look to take advantage of a Buffalo defense that allows an average of 8.8 points in the third quarter of home games, one of the worst marks in the league. Buffalo will want to contain big plays from Miami’s special teams unit. The Dolphins average a league-leading 114.9 return yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Buf, ATS Winner – Buf, O/U – Under
Notes
Buffalo is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Buffalo’s last 23 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 6 games.
Buffalo is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Buffalo’s last 9 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Buffalo’s last 11 games when playing Miami.
Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Miami.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 5 games when playing at home against Miami.
Buffalo is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Miami.
Both teams are 2-0 SU when leading at the half this season, and both teams are 1-4 when losing at halftime.
Interestingly, Miami is winless (0-3 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (2-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
Miami has provoked an average of 8.1 penalties on opponents this season. Buffalo is only 1-4 SU when penalized eight or more times in a game.
According to overall NFL pass rankings, Miami is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its 15th-ranked offensive passing game will face the 20th-ranked pass defense of Buffalo, while its 19th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 25th-ranked aerial attack of the Bills.
