No Answers Coming from Buffalo
Maybe the biggest question for the Miami Dolphins when it comes to their Week 17 showdown against the Buffalo Bills remained unanswered Tuesday.
And there might not be an answer coming until game day, either.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Tuesday he had discussed with General Manager Brandon Beane the issue of holding out certain key players — or maybe limiting their playing time — but declined to reveal the decision because he had not spoken to his players about the issue yet.
McDermott later indicated he actually might not reveal anything publicly at all.
"I'm going to be very straightforward about it," McDermott said. "I'm going to keep that within our organization for a lot of reasons, A, because I haven't talked to the players yet and, B, because I just think that's what's best for us."
That means the Dolphins will practice this week without knowing for certain whether they'll be facing Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen or backup Matt Barkley.
This obviously is significant for the Dolphins because they need to defeat the Bills to clinch the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs. If they lose, the Dolphins then would need for the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns or Indianapolis Colts to lose, otherwise they would miss out on the playoffs despite finishing with a 10-6 record.
Defeating the Bills is not only the simplest path to the playoffs for the Dolphins, it might be the most realistic.
That's because the Ravens are 10-point favorites to win at Cincinnati; the Colts are 14-point favorites to win at home against Jacksonville; and the Browns are 10-point favorites to win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The reason Cleveland is such a heavy favorite against the Steelers — despite Pittsburgh's better record and its 38-7 victory against the Browns in October — is that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be held out of the game.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin took a different approach than McDermott on Tuesday in revealing he would hold out the veteran quarterback and perhaps some other front-line players.
Pittsburgh and Buffalo currently are tied for second place in the AFC standings with 12-3 records, but the Bills hold the tiebreaker for the second seed because of their victory against the Steelers earlier this month.
The decision for both organizations is whether to make an all-out effort to get the second seed, which this year does not include a first-round bye, or hold out key players to avoid injuries.
For the Steelers, another factor was giving players rest because of the absence of a real bye for them this year because of the shuffling of their schedule due to COVID-19 issues with two opponents, the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore.
After losing his first start against the Dolphins, Allen has won his last four while throwing 12 touchdowns against only one interception. In Week 2 this season, Allen passed for 415 yards with four touchdowns and no picks.
While it should be noted that Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones left that game after only four snaps because of an injury, it's clear Allen has given the Dolphins problems.
If injuries end up weighing on McDermott's mind, it should be noted that he revealed Tuesday that wide receiver Cole Beasley will be week-to-week with a leg injury he sustained in the Bills' 38-9 victory against New England on Monday night.
Perhaps that injury will convince it's best not to take any chances against the Dolphins.
But, again, if he sticks to his word, we won't find out until Sunday.
