Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins: Three Keys to the Game

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:19 p.m. ET

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Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills fans celebrate as wide receiver Justin Hunter (17) scores a touchdown during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills at the Miami Dolphins Week 7 matchup kicks off on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Miami Gardens.

It’s incredible.

The Buffalo Bills have an opportunity to improve to a five-game winning streak Sunday when they travel to play the Miami Dolphins.

After the Bills’ Week 2 blunder against the New York Jets, at home on prime time, people were panicking in Buffalo, many in the national media were pushing for Rex Ryan to get fired and there was the inevitable release of Tyrod Taylor. However, everything has changed and the Bills are right in the middle of the playoff hunt.

Sunday presents a critical test for the Bills. A road trip to Miami is Buffalo’s last game that it will be favored in until a Nov. 27 home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With games against the New England Patriots, at the Seattle Seahawks and at the Cincinnati Bengals, this is almost a must-win for the Bills.

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With the possibility of LeSean McCoy, Robert Woods and Marcell Dareus all out of the starting lineup Sunday, Buffalo’s depth will be tested and role players will need to step up. This could be a big game for the likes of Mike Gillislee, Justin Hunter, and Marquise Goodwin.

Each week during the regular season, this column will provide the three ways the Bills can secure a victory. So, without further ado, here’s the Three Keys to the Game for the matchup against the Dolphins, which kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. from Hard Rock Stadium.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) throws a pass under pressure by the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Unleash Tyrod Taylor

With the possibility of LeSean McCoy sitting this one out, it’s time to find out whether or not Tyrod Taylor is the Bills’ franchise quarterback. There are reports from ESPN which say McCoy could play on a limited basis but we won’t officially know until the inactive players are announced. With a matchup against the middle-of-the-pack Miami Dolphins defense, now missing one of its key cogs in the secondary in Reshad Jones, Sunday is the perfect opportunity.

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Taylor hasn’t been asked to do much this season, and that’s okay because McCoy and the defense have been playing so well. However, without Sammy Watkins and now, possibly, McCoy, it’s time for Taylor to step up.

There have been glimpses of Taylor’s ability – like his touchdown passes to Justin Hunter and his touchdown pass to a sitting Marquise Goodwin – but these need to come more frequently than just rare occurrences.

Taylor’s yards per attempt is 6.56, which puts him at 25th in the league. However, if you multiply that by Andy Dalton’s 218 attempts, which is good for 11th and 54 more than Taylor has thrown this season, Taylor would have thrown for 1,430 yards, ranking 17th, and not 1,076, which is his current total and ranks 27th. While I understand those still wouldn’t be mind-blowing numbers, it would be better and perhaps the passing game would be feared more than it is right now.

Taylor has only completed 12 passes of 20-plus yards, which also ranks him 27th and is way down from last year. A couple more deep shots wouldn’t hurt the Bills’ offense, either.

Oct 9, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Mike Gillislee (35) runs 5 yards into the end zone for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Whoever’s at Running Back, Feed Him the Ball

Honestly, it doesn’t matter all that much whether it’s LeSean McCoy or Mike Gillislee at running back Sunday.

Heck, it could even be Reggie Bush.

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But pound the rock because the Miami run defense can’t stop anyone. The Dolphins rank second-to-last in rushing yards allowed, and the Bills rank first in rushing yards.

Now, what do you think is more likely to happen? The Bills struggle to run the ball or they keep on chugging away? Personally, I’d think it’s the latter.

If McCoy is out, the load falls a little more on the offensive line to produce, and look for the Bills to depend on the left side of their line more often than not.

While the offensive line as a whole is playing well this season, the left side has a more favorable matchup. Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito outgrade Mario Williams and Jordan Phillips 155.2 to 117.9, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF also ranks three of Miami’s top-5 defensive lineman outside the top 40 at their position, while Buffalo only has two players ranked outside of the top 25 at their position.

The Bills also have Tyrod Taylor’s rushing ability in their back pocket. Taylor is the league’s top running quarterback this season and is coming off of a 68-yard performance against the San Francisco 49ers last week. Some zone read should do the trick.

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman (21) tackles New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Shut Down Jarvis Landry

The Dolphins really have just one playmaker on offense, and it’s Jarvis Landry.

While Jay Ajayi found his way last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arian Foster is on the Miami roster, Landry is really the only player the scares opposing defenses. The former LSU Tiger is the best slot receiver in the NFL.

With that being said, Sunday will be a big day for Nickell Robey-Coleman.

The slot corner has had success for the Bills this season, ranking in a tie for sixth with two interceptions and currently comes in as Pro Football Focus’ seventh-ranked cornerback. In fact, the Robey-Coleman vs. Landry matchup is PFF’s best one-on-one matchup for the Bills-Dolphins game.

“This slot matchup will be an entertaining underneath battle to watch, with both players excelling in their roles this season. Bills CB Nickell Robey-Coleman has surrendered a league-low 15.7 passer rating in the slot this season — just eight receptions on 21 targets into his coverage — with two interceptions. On the other side, Landry has recorded the most slot receptions and yards this season of any receiver, with 43 catches and 435 yards.” – Pro Football Focus

If Robey-Coleman and the rest of the Bills defense can take Landry out of the game, Buffalo should be able to tame the rest of the Dolphins offense.

Prediction: Bills 27, Dolphins 13

This smells a lot like a trap game, especially with the possibility of LeSean McCoy being out. Most years the Bills probably would have lost this game, however, something is different about this year’s squad.

With games against the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks coming up, it would be easy to look ahead, but Rex Ryan has stressed a week-by-week approach with his team this season. And it has worked.

The fact that Shaq Lawson will be making his NFL debut this Sunday certainly softens the blow of the Bills possibly being without McCoy, Robert Woods, and Marcell Dareus. Fans have been patiently waiting for this moment for a long time.

Sunday also marks another coming home party for Charles Clay. The former Dolphins tight end found success in Miami last year when he caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in 41-14 Week 3 win. If Clay can replicate that performance this weekend, some of the pressure will be off of Tyrod Taylor’s shoulders.

Also look for another big splash from Justin Hunter. The former Dolphins wide receiver has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last two games. With the possibility of Woods out, Hunter’s role could increase.

When it’s all said and done, the Bills have more talent than the Dolphins on both sides of the ball. Miami’s upset win over the Steelers is more of a flash in the pan than anything else, while Buffalo’s winning streak should be able to be sustained at least another week.