Game Day: Buffalo Bills
A closer look at today’s Buffalo Bills home game against the rival Miami Dolphins:
SIX POINTS
1. Do the Bills have a big effort in store for their interim coach, Perry Fewell, in his home debut? The Bills certainly have their ignominious history working against Fewell. The team has changed coaches during a season five times, and their combined record in the games played after the switch is now 5-35-1. And that doesn’t count 1971 when John Rauch quit in training camp and Harvey Johnson took over on an interim basis and went 1-13.
2. Will Miami’s Wildcat package be a factor now that Ronnie Brown is out for the year? The Dolphins ran only three plays out of that formation in their win over Carolina. Ricky Williams can operate with the direct snap, and maybe backup QB Pat White will be more involved. Miami had great success in the 38-10 romp over Buffalo on Oct. 4, averaging 6.4 yards per Wildcat play, but Brown was a major factor in that.
3. Can the Bills offensive line hold up against Miami’s edge rushers? The Dolphins produced a season-high six sacks in the first meeting, and that was without Joey Porter in the lineup. He’ll be in there today and probably is licking his chops at the opportunity to go against LT Jonathan Scott or RT Kirk Chambers.
4. Will the Bills be able to force Dolphins QB Chad Henne into mistakes? Miami has not allowed Henne to be sacked in the past two games, and the second-year-pro is now 5-2 as a starter. The Dolphins have used him economically and he has topped 200 yards passing just three times. If the Bills can contain Williams, perhaps it will lead to Henne trying to do too much and the Bills forcing some mistakes. They lead the AFC with 17 interceptions.
5. Does Terrell Owens have another monster game in him? Owens and Ryan Fitzpatrick clearly have a connection and Owens is Fitzpatrick’s go-to guy. Last week, 14 balls were thrown Owens’ way and he caught nine for 197 yards and a TD. In the first three games with Trent Edwards at QB, there were 13 balls thrown toward Owens.
6. Is Miami’s Ted Ginn Jr. going to be a factor? Remember that career-game Ginn had against the Bills last year when CB Terrence McGee was badly hobbled? Well, McGee might be back today, and he’s coming off knee surgery. Also, Ginn leads the NFL with a 30.4 average on kickoff returns.
BILLS GAME PLAN
There won’t be anything fancy or exotic in this matchup of old rivals, neither of whom is likely to make the playoffs. With Fitzpatrick and Henne at quarterback, both teams are going to try to run the ball, and the team that does it best is probably going to win.
The Bills catch a break with Miami NT Jason Ferguson out for the year, so they will try to get both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson more involved early in the game because they don’t want to expose their weak offensive line to Miami’s potent pass.
The Dolphins would love to probe the NFL’s 31st-ranked rush defense with Williams, who has back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time since the 2005 season.
OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bills WR Lee Evans: Owens’ big game last week may cause the Dolphins to pay more attention to him, and Evans has had some big games against Miami in the past.
Bills LB Paul Posluszny: He’s coming off one of his best games as a Bill and he’ll be largely responsible for containing RB Williams.
Dolphins WR Davone Bess: He is Miami’s leading receiver with 46 catches for 397 yards.
Dolphins DT Paul Soliai: He’ll be stepping in for the injured Ferguson and must hold the middle against Bills’ run game.
REMEMBER WHEN Bills-Dolphins
1992: Back when both these teams were perennial playoff contenders, they were undefeated when Miami came into Rich Stadium and inflicted a 37-10 pounding one year after Buffalo had beaten the Dolphins three times, including once in the playoffs. Louis Oliver intercepted three Jim Kelly passes and returned one of them 103 yards for a TD.
1987: The Bills shut out the Dolphins 27-0, ending Dan Marino’s consecutive games streak with at least one TD pass at 30. Bills outrushed the Dolphins 229-23.
2002: Ricky Williams rushed for 228 yards, a Miami record and the most Buffalo had allowed to an individual, yet the Bills still won 38-21 in the snow at the Ralph.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
20: Times the Dolphins have swept the season series against Buffalo, with a chance to make that 21 today.
5: Number of 100-yard receiving games the Miami pass defense has allowed. The Bills have only one such game, Owens last week in Jacksonville.
250: Yards Miami had on the ground in first meeting with the Bills, its season-high.
9: Times the Bills have scored 30 or more points since start of 2005 (74 games).
3: Victories for Dolphins coach Tony Sparano in three games against the Bills.
126: Career sacks for Jason Taylor, including 19.5 vs. the Bills, his most against any team.
