PLAYER NOTES
–RB LeSean McCoy has rushed for just 426 yards and is averaging a career-worst 3.3 yards per attempt.
–QB Josh Allen’s four rushing TDs are the most ever by a Bills rookie quarterback.
–WR Zay Jones was blanked by Jacksonville last week and he’s still sitting on team highs of 37 catches and 392 yards.
–WR Deonte Thompson, who was just signed last week, played 19 snaps against the Jaguars but did not make a catch.
–WR Kelvin Benjamin is clearly being phased out as he played a season-low 40 percent of the snaps against the Jaguars and had just one catch for 32 yards.
–G Vlad Ducasse has been replaced in the starting lineup by Wyatt Teller and he was inactive last week.
–TE Charles Clay missed his second game with a hamstring injury and his status this week will most likely be questionable. He was limited in practice Wednesday.
–CB Levi Wallace started his second straight game and the rookie played 96 percent of the snaps against the Jaguars. Wallace appears to have won the job opposite Tre’Davious White.
–G John Miller suffered an oblique injury and he did not practice on Wednesday.
–CB Lafayette Pitts suffered a concussion last week and he did not practice Wednesday while in the protocol.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: FS Jordan Poyer. Now in his second season after joining the Bills as a free agent in 2017, Poyer continues to team with Micah Hyde to form one of the best safety duos in the league. Poyer is tied for the team lead with three interceptions including one last week against Jacksonville that set up the game-winning field goal. He also has a fumble recovery and a forced fumble, and he’s third on the team in tackles with 62.
GAME PLAN: The Bills are still showing a reluctance to turn loose quarterback Josh Allen as once you take his scrambles out of the equation, he attempted only 19 passes and completed eight in the win over Jacksonville. Against a Miami defense that has struggled in all areas this season, this might be the week offensive coordinator Brian Daboll opens things up. Miami ranks tied for 22nd in points allowed, 29th in yards allowed, 21st in passing yards and 29th in sacks. Allen made several big plays with his legs as he rushed for 99 yards, but he may be able to stand in the pocket and deliver in this game.
The Bills remain one of the toughest defenses in the league, though they stumbled last week by allowing 226 rushing yards to Jacksonville, even with Leonard Fournette forced to sit out the fourth quarter. The Dolphins will try to gash Buffalo inside with Frank Gore and Kenyan Drake, and the interior of the Bills’ line must shut it down. Ryan Tannehill was somewhat efficient in his return to action last week for the Dolphins, and one of the keys for the Bills will be to corral pesky Danny Amendola (if healthy) who leads Miami with 48 receptions.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Bills MLB Tremaine Edmunds vs. Dolphins RB Frank Gore. Edmunds leads the Bills with 78 tackles, but the 20-year-old rookie is often out of position due to over-pursuit and he needs to tighten things up. This week, Gore presents a challenge because the Bills were vulnerable up the middle on the ground against the Jaguars, and Gore is averaging 4.5 yards per attempt, the bulk of that between the tackles.
–Bills RB LeSean McCoy vs. Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso. These two have history as they were traded for each other in 2015 when Alonso went to the Eagles for McCoy. McCoy has been bitter about it ever since because he still can’t believe that’s all the Eagles got in return. They’ve had some interesting matchups since Alonso joined the Dolphins, and this would be the perfect week for McCoy to show how he used to play. He has just 426 yards this season, 3.3 per carry, as the Bills offensive line has struggled.