Why This Week’s Showdown Between Allen, the Bills, and the Dolphins Could Change Everything

Thursday Night Football in Week 3 sets the stage once again for the Dolphins to face a harsh reality check against the Bills. Remember last season when Geoff Clark and I were sure Miami was turning a corner? Yeah, that optimism swiftly dissolved as Tua Tagovailoa took yet another concussion — and the Bills rolled to a 31-10 romp. Fast forward to now, and Miami’s chaos has only deepened, with Coach Mike McDaniel looking less like a savior and more like a distraction. Meanwhile, the Bills, led by a steely Josh Allen, seem to thrive on consistency and focus. So here’s a thought: Can the Dolphins overcome their unraveling or are they doomed to be Buffalo’s next highlight? Spoiler alert—I’m betting the Bills will bulldoze this one in Buffalo. Curious why? Let’s dive deeper. LEARN MORE

Dolphins vs. Bills, 8:15 ET

We’ve reached Thursday Night Football in Week 3, and I have a small story that I remember from last season. Last season, Geoff Clark and I were on a podcast together, and we both believed that the Dolphins had finally changed. They were turning a corner and were ready to start establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the National Football League. This was Week 2 of last year, and we both thought they were going to beat the Bills in Miami on a Thursday night. Tua Tagovailoa suffered yet another concussion, but it really didn’t matter as the game was out of control anyway and the Bills coasted to a 31-10 victory. Bad news, Miami fans, you’re about to experience the same type of loss this week. 

The Dolphins are in disarray, and their coach absolutely should be on the hot seat. There are a lot of Dolphins fans calling for Mike McDaniel’s head, and I can’t say that I blame them. He was kind of funny for about a month, and since then, he has been annoying and disappointing. He seems more interested in his appearance and getting soundbites out there than actually improving his team. After a brutal performance against the Colts, where they mustered just eight points for the game and let Daniel Jones hang 33 on them, they let Drake Maye and the Patriots also put up 33 points on them. To make matters worse, they had a chance to tie/win the game, and apparently, there were problems with the execution of the plays or something like that that cost the team yards. They had back-to-back penalties, and then Tagovailoa was sacked twice all within a span of 20 seconds of gameplay. Reports say the team is still supporting McDaniel — at least the players — but the lack of focus and poor performance says otherwise. 

The Bills are like the anti-Dolphins or the exact opposite. Their quarterback is composed and almost never injured. Their team is always playing at a high level, and it seems like their coach is focused on the game and not on which pair of sunglasses or shoes to wear. Josh Allen is obviously the main reason for the team’s success as the man continues to make something out of nothing. While I don’t love the Bills’ roster or their offensive weapons, they really don’t matter because Allen is a threat to run and makes fewer dumb mistakes than he used to. Defensively, the Bills struggled against the Ravens, but that’s fairly normal for any team. They went out and dominated the Jets last week. I won’t act like the Jets are a powerhouse, but I did think they would perform a bit better than we saw from them on Sunday. The question you have to ask here is if the Dolphins can get anything going against a tougher opponent. The Patriots’ defense is just okay, but the Colts should be a pretty good unit for the season. The Bills’ defense is almost certainly better than the Colts. 

It isn’t an ideal system to compare previous opponents to predict the future, but the reality is that the Bills are a significantly better team than the Dolphins. Allen is a way better quarterback than Tagovailoa. In fact, I literally see no edge for the Dolphins over the Bills other than Miami having better weather, but this game is in Buffalo. The Bills are going to demolish the Dolphins. Play this one up to -14.5. 

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