Tyreek and the Bills, and the YAC Attack Breakdown
For the most part, Miami Dolphins players don't have very fond memories of facing the Buffalo Bills, though there is one glaring exception.
And it happens to involve perhaps the most important player on the team these days, wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
No, Hill has very good memories from facing the Bills — at least he should.
Hill has faced Buffalo five times during his NFL career and the last time easily was the most memorable.
In the game remembered for "13 seconds," Hill played a huge role in the Kansas City Chiefs' improbable victory with a 64-yard touchdown with 1:02 left in regulation and then a 19-yard reception on the lightning-quick drive that allowed the Chiefs to send the game to overtime with a last-second field goal.
Hill finished with 11 catches for 150 yards and the one touchdown that day — kind of like his final stat sheet in the 42-38 victory at Baltimore last Sunday when he had 11-190-2 — and he also chipped in on special teams with a 45-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.
It marked the second consecutive playoff matchup where he burned the Bills.
In the AFC Championship Game a year earlier, Hill had nine catches for 172 yards in Kansas City's 38-24 victory.
In the regular season, though, the Bills have done a much better of containing Hill, holding him to a combined 17 catches for 124 yards with no touchdowns in three games — an average of six catches for 41 yards.
Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier discussed this week the task of trying to cover Hill.
"It's never about one guy in our scheme," Frazier said. "I mean, it's about a collective effort between our rush and our coverage combined. And there aren't a lot of guys in our league who will stand up and to tell you, 'I'm going to take Tyreek Hill one on one. I got him all day long.' It just doesn't happen very often in our league. He's an excellent receiver and one of the best in our business. But for us, the way we play defense, it's a collective effort between our secondary and our rush and our linebackers."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DOLPHINS YAC REPORT
One of the most pleasant development in the first two weeks of the 2022 season for the Dolphins has been the ability to get yards after the catch, though maybe it's not that surprising given head coach Mike McDaniel's credentials and given the speed on offense.
After two weeks, the Dolphins lead the NFL with 338 yards after catch, 22 more than the Washington Commanders.
Jaylen Waddle (116) and Hill (114) are right near the top of the individual leader board in terms of YAC, ranking second and third behind leader Austin Ekeler, the running back from the Los Angeles Chargers.
In the victory at Baltimore, the Dolphins had 220 yards after the catch, including four plays with 20 or more YAC.
The Dolphins also had seven completions behind the line of scrimmage and those produced 45 yards thanks to 70 yards after the catch. That included Waddle's first touchdown, a play where he caught a pass 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
The only such play that didn't work was a pass to Trent Sherfield that lost 3 yards when he was hit immediately after catching the ball.
And bringing it back to Hill and the Bills, it should be noted that on his 64-yard touchdown in that epic AFC Divisional Round game he had 50 yards after the catch.
THE YAC FROM 2020 AND 2021
The work after the catch obviously has been better for the Dolphins this season than, say, the past two years.
The Dolphins were tied for 30th in average YAC in 2021 at 4.3 and 25th in total YAC with 1,725 yards. In 2020, they were tied for 28th at an average YAC of 4.5 and 23rd in total YAC at 1,654.
Interestingly, the Dolphins now employ two people connected with the leader in each category the past two years.
The Kansas City Chiefs, with Hill, led the NFL in total YAC the past two seasons; the 49ers, with Mike McDaniel on their staff, led the league in average YAC each time.
For comparison, the Dolphins' 338 YAC so far this season projects to 2,873 for the season. The Dolphins' current average of 169 YAC per game is the highest in the NFL since 2018 when the Pittsburgh Steelers averaged 176.3 YAC during the season.
