Dolphins-Bills Wild-Card Playoff Predictions Roundup
The Miami Dolphins will be looking for their first playoff win since 2000 when they face the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Dolphins will enter the game as 13.5-point underdogs, according to the SI Sportsbook.
Here's a roundup of national predictions on this game:
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CBS Sports
Analysis: "The Dolphins played well in losing to the Bills late in the season, but that won't be the case here. Josh Allen and the offense will light up the Dolphins defense, while the Bills will limit the Miami big plays. The Bills will be moving on."
Prediction: Bills 34, Dolphins 21
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Analysis: "There’s no crying in baseball, but there should be some sympathy in football. Because the Miami Dolphins will almost certainly look back in 2022 as a “what could have been?” situation. At or near full strength, the Dolphins would have a real chance against the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins and Bills split the season series, with Miami winning at home by 2 and Buffalo winning at home by 3. But Tua Tagovailoa started those games. He’s out Sunday with a concussion. And backup Teddy Bridgewater is no sure thing either. That means Skylar Thompson is in line to start behind a patchwork offensive line.Yikes. And as a reminder: Josh Allen absolutely owns the Dolphins. His career splits against Miami are absurd: 8-2 as a starter with 27 passing touchdowns (plus four rushing), five interceptions, a passer rating of 106.1, and 8.74 average passing yards per attempt."
Adam H. Beasley Prediction: Bills 31, Dolphins 17
Dalton Miller Prediction: Bills 33, Dolphins 16
Dallas Robinson Prediction: Bills 31, Dolphins 14
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FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM
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Analysis: "The Bills are heavy favorites, and that is due in large because of Miami's quarterback situation. Will it be Tua Tagovailoa – who has missed the last two games because of a second concussion? Teddy Bridgewater also was injured, and it could be Skylar Thompson – who has a 57.1% completion percentage in limited action. That is asking a lot on the road against Buffalo, which was 7-1 at home in the regular season. Josh Allen averaged 352 passing yards with seven TDs and no interceptions against the Dolphins in two regular-season meetings."
Prediction: Bills 34, Dolphins 20
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Analysis: "Let’s be blunt. Josh Allen isn’t losing to Skylark Thompson. Case Keenum wouldn’t lose to Skylar Thompson. Buffalo is about to baptize Miami, making this a bye week with only the concern of getting injured. For the Dolphins, their only chance is to run the ball incredibly well, force turnovers and be unpredictable in their play-calls. Good luck."
Prediction: Bills 34, Dolphins 13
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Analysis: "The season series was split between the Bills and Dolphins, but the Dolphins are going into this meeting injured in a big way. Not only has quarterback Tua Tagovailoa been ruled out with rookie Skylar Thompson preparing to start, but running back Raheem Mostert will also not play after undergoing surgery on a broken thumb Monday. Mostert ran for 136 yards against the Bills when the teams played in Buffalo last month. With a banged-up offense, the Dolphins will likely have a tough time matching the No. 2 home scoring offense in the NFL."
Seth Walder Prediction: Bills 30, Dolphins 10
Eric Moody Prediction: Bills 35, Dolphins 20
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Mike Florio
Analysis: "Josh Allen vs. Skylar Thompson. Sometimes, you don’t need to say anything more."
Prediction: Bills 34, Dolphins 17
Michael David Smith
Analysis: "If Tua Tagovailoa were healthy, this would be an intriguing first-round matchup. Without Tua, it’s hard to see the Dolphins even keeping it close against a Bills team that is strong in all phases of the game."
Prediction: Bills 28, Dolphins 13
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Analysis: "The Dolphins limped to the finish line. If Teddy Bridgewater was starting this game, much less Tua Tagovailoa, I'd give the Dolphins a chance to attack Buffalo's weaknesses in the secondary. If Skylar Thompson starts this game, take a touchdown away from Miami. The familiarity here could also help Miami, a division matchup in which it already played the Bills even twice. The Dolphins have enough pass rushers up front (Christian Wilkins, Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips) to bother Josh Allen, although consider it a bad sign he was back to World's Destroyer Mode last week against the Patriots. Keep an eye on the injury report here beyond quarterback. Left tackle Terron Armstead's status remains uncertain, and Xavien Howard didn't look 100 percent last week after missing Week 17 with a knee injury."
Prediction: Bills 27, Dolphins 11
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Analysis: "The Dolphins haven't made the playoffs very often in the 2000s and the results have been very disappointing on those rare occasions. It's not just that the Dolphins have lost their last four playoff games, but what's really bad is the margin in those games was 27, 17, 18 and 18. Yikes! Unfortunately, everything seems to be in place for that kind of game because of all the key injuries the Dolphins have against a Buffalo team that's about as healthy as it's been all season. But the reality is that the 2022 Dolphins never once got blown out this season, even in the games they lost 40-17 and 33-17 because they had a chance to win in the fourth quarter every time. Skylar Thompson didn't look very impressive against the Jets last Sunday, but it seemed pretty clear he was given the mission of simply not turning the ball over. He's going to be asked to do more in this game, and we get the feeling he'll be able to deliver to some degree. And the defense has enough quality players to keep things interesting for a while. Let's not forget that the Dolphins easily could have won that Saturday night game in Buffalo back in December but didn't because Josh Allen was just that good. Maybe it's not quite as good this time, giving the Dolphins more of a chance. It's a lot to ask, to be sure, and it also might be wishful thinking. The Dolphins have been competitive all season and it says here they'll be competitive in this one, too, before Buffalo pulls away in the fourth quarter."
Prediction: Bills 30, Dolphins 16
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