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We had a tremendous Week 1 of NFL games this past week. But now it is time to look ahead into Week 2. Thursday Night Football kicks off every week in the NFL, and this week’s matchup is great, with the Bills at the Dolphins. This is an important early-season matchup between two AFC East teams, as it could have playoff implications later in the season. Additionally, there are some of the biggest stars of the game in this matchup, with Josh Allen on the Bills side and Tyreek Hill for the Dolphins.
In this article, we dive into our Bills @ Dolphins picks and break down this Thursday Night Football matchup in Miami.
Both of these two AFC East teams were able to win their Week 1 matchups. The Buffalo Bills were at home taking on the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals were a pesky foe in this one, jumping out to a 17-3 lead early in the first half. The Cardinals did that on the back of touchdowns from James Connor and Michael Wilson.
The Bills responded with a hard-nosed run by Josh Allen, who found the end zone for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-10. After that, it was all Buffalo in the second half. They came out and scored 14 unanswered points, with touchdowns from Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir taking a 24-17 lead.
However, Arizona would not go away, as DeeJay Dallas returned a kickoff for a touchdown, making it 31-28. In the end, the Bills won 34-28 as the Cardinals could not move the ball down the field to score on the last possession of the game.
As for the Dolphins, they struggled on offense early and often in their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after a Travis Etienne one-yard touchdown run and rookie Brian Thomas’ first career NFL touchdown. The Dolphins answered back with a De’Von Achane rushing touchdown but were still down at half 17-7.
Both offenses struggled to open up the third quarter until we saw QB Tua Tagovailoa hook up with Tyreek Hill for an 80-yard catch-and-run. The Dolphins defense played well most of the game, especially in the second half, holding the Jags scoreless. The Dolphins went on to find a way to win 20-17 after two fourth-quarter field goals from Jason Sanders.
With both teams sitting at 1-0, this makes for an exciting Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins Thursday Night Football matchup.
Both the Bills and Dolphins had question marks heading into this, but both figured out how to take care of business in Week 1 differently.
The Bills moved on from Stefon Diggs this offseason and looked to rebuild their wide receiver room. The Bills offense struggled early but came together as the game went on because Allen started to gain trust in those wideouts. Rookie Keon Coleman had four catches for 51 yards and made a great play down the sideline on a back-shoulder throw from Josh Allen.
The Bills also had to rebuild the secondary this offseason, with Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde all departing. They also lost their best linebacker, Matt Milano, who tore his bicep before the start of the season. Rasul Douglas, Demar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp held up in Week 1, but it will be interesting to see how they hold up against all the Dolphins playmakers.
Like the Bills, the Dolphins had many question marks on the defensive side of the football. The Dolphins had to let their best defender go in the offseason, Christian Wilkins, along with coordinator Vic Fangio. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver had a good debut, holding a good Jaguars offense to just 17 points. The defense did that on the back of 10 quarterback pressures, three sacks and forcing a fumble.
With both teams having question marks on the defensive side, we expect a solid amount of points to be scored in this one. Our first Bills @ Dolphins pick is that more than 50 points will be scored in this one.
Our second Bills @ Dolphins pick is on the Dolphins to win this game outright, having the home-field advantage in Miami. The Dolphins playmakers, De’Von Achane, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, will be too much to handle for a rebuilt Buffalo Bills defense on Thursday Night.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.