Buffalo Bills aim to squish the fish in Week 3
It is Thursday Night and football is on the agenda for Bills and Dolphins fans.
Needless to say, that brings different sentiments for both sets of fans currently.
The Buffalo Bills find themselves 2-0 on the season, while the Dolphins are like a fish – or aquatic mammal – out of water, sitting at 0-2.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is staring down the barrel, while Bills head coach Sean McDermott is absolutely fixated on the No.1 seed come January.
How do the teams square up?
What does history tell us about these two teams, the players, the coaches and also… Thursday nights?
Below are 15 statistics that will help YOU decide who is going to win in Week 3.
What will it be, sir – Surf or Turf?
- Since the Bills hired Sean McDermott as their head coach (2017), they are 14-2 in the regular season against their division rival Dolphins.
- Conversely, Mike McDaniel is 1-5 against the Bills, with his lone win coming back in Week 3 of 2022 in Miami (21-19).
- Tyreek Hill has never eclipsed 100 receiving yards in a regular season matchup against the Bills in nine attempts – three in Kansas City and six with Miami. His most is 82 yards in Week 18 of the 2024 season.
- Josh Allen is 7-0 on Thursday Night Football (TNF) and has a TD:INT ratio of 15:6 during those games.
- The Bills have played Thursday Night Football 25 times. Bufaflo are 14-10-1 over that stretch – including the current seven-game winning streak.
- The Bills are 56-61-1 against the Dolphins over the course of their history. They are 4-1 against them in the postseason.
- The Miami Dolphins have played TNF 26 times and are 13-13 – they are on a three-game losing streak.
- Josh Allen currently sits 41st all time in rushing touchdowns with 67. He needs nine more to take over Cam Newton as the quarterback with the most rushed TDs.
He recently took over former Dolphins and Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka (64)
- Recently acquired kicker, Matt Prater, continues to surge up the record books – he needs five more made field goals to reach 12th all time (413) – currently behind ex-Baltimore Raven Justin Tucker.
- Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa has played the Bills nine times in the regular season. He has nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions, with two returned for a Pick Six.
- Long serving Buffalo Bills left tackle, Dion Dawkins, has played the Miami Dolphins 17 times. He is 15-2.
- Josh Allen has featured against the Miami Dolphins 15 times. He is 13-2 against them with 37 touchdowns, eight interceptions and one Pick Six.
- Since Sean McDermott became Bills Head coach, the Bills are 88-45 which is the joint second-best record in the league during that time. Level with the Ravens and behind the Chiefs – 100-34.
- His defense has led the way – conceding the second-fewest points during that time frame. That is 2671 in total or 20 points per game.
- Over the same amount of games directly prior to McDermott joining, the Bills conceded 3034 points – or 23.7 per game – which would place them 25th in the league.
There you have it
From the mundane and irrelevant facts to the direct, win-related stats – there is a fairly clear narrative behind the trajectory of both these football teams.
The Buffalo Bills are in the ascendancy and have been for a while under their General Manager, head coach and quarterback trio of Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott and Josh Allen.
It has not all been bad for the Dolphins under Chris Grier, Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa – but the consistency has never been there, even if at times it has been electric.
There should only be one outcome tonight and I expect both teams to hit ‘3s’ in the respective records.
Week 3 Pre-season Prediction: WIN
I am sticking with my prediction – I do not see it being a classic, but I think the Bills get the job done.
