Final NFL Week 18 Observations ... With Dolphins Angles

What do you get the Super Bowl contender that has practically everything? For the Buffalo Bills, you get them a stud kickoff returner.

In the Bills' emotional first game since the scary incident involving safety Damar Hamlin, midseason trade acquisition Nyheim Hines played the role of hero with not one but two kickoff returns for touchdowns in a 35-23 victory against the New England Patriots.

The Miami Dolphins certainly appreciate Hines' efforts considering it helped get them into the playoffs, but in a few days they'll turn their focus into trying to keep him from breaking off a long return in the Super Wild Card Weekend matchup at Highmark Stadium.

And anybody who's watched the Dolphins knows this has been an issue all season. The Dolphins finished last in the NFL in 2022 in kickoff return average allowed at 27.8 — thanks (maybe not the right word) to the touchdown by Baltimore's Devin Duvernay in Week 2 and the 93-yard return by Green Bay's Keisean Nixon on Christmas Day.

As QB Josh Allen emotionally pointed out after the game Sunday, Buffalo hadn't had a kickoff return for a touchdown for three years and three months — Hamlin's jersey number is 3.

And that last kickoff return for a touchdown had come against the Dolphins when Micah Hyde grabbed an onside kick and sprinted 45 yards into the end zone in a 31-21 victory.

The previous time the Bills got a more traditional kickoff return for a touchdown also came against the Dolphins — in 2014 when C.J. Spiller scored during a 29-10 Buffalo victory.

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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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MAHOMES ALWAYS MAHOMES

If the Dolphins defeat the Bills on Sunday, their divisional round opponent will be the Kansas City Chiefs, who clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC with their 31-13 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.

Mahomes had modest passing numbers in the win — 202 yards, one touchdown — but he had another highlight TD pass when he shoveled the ball while on the run and pretty much clinched the MVP award.

But what might be more concerning for future K.C. playoff opponents is the running game compiling 168 yards in the finale.

Oh, and we should mention Chris Jones' 2.5 sacks, which gave him 15.5 on the season, the highest total in the NFL for an interior defensive lineman. He's the player who needs to be controlled on the defensive side of the ball.

BURROW AND THE DANGEROUS BENGALS

You had to love Joe Mixon's touchdown celebration against the Baltimore Ravens when he pulled out a coin and then kicked it out of the end zone with his teammates standing by and celebrating with him.

That was an obvious reference to the NFL deciding to have a coin toss had Baltimore won that game and the two teams been matched in a first-round game.

When the Bengals won that game, it rendered the point moot. It also continued the Bengals' impressive late-season run that should have no one dismissing the possibility they'll disrupt the anticipated Bills-Chiefs AFC Championship Game showdown at a neutral site.

The Bengals won their last eight games of the regular season and they were moving the ball at will in their first two drives in that Monday night game against Buffalo that was canceled.

QUICK HITTERS

-- Poor Brandon Staley can't escape criticism, can he? This time it was the L.A. Chargers coach's decision to use his starters against Denver on Sunday when Baltimore's loss already had clinched the No. 5 seed in the AFC. Remember, this is a coach who doesn't use Justin Herbert in the preseason because of the idea he doesn't need the reps before the start of the regular season. And, of course, wide receiver Mike Williams leaves the game with a back injury. Though the outlook is promising for Williams to play against Jacksonville on Saturday night, it didn't make a lot of sense to have him in there given his importance to the passing game and his injury history.

-- Major kudos to former Dolphins head coach Dan Campbell for his Detroit Lions coming up big Sunday night against Green Bay — shortly after being eliminated from playoff consideration when Seattle defeated the Rams in overtime. Despite a 1-6 start, Detroit ended up as one of the two 9-8 teams to miss out on the playoffs, the other being the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the process, Campbell established himself as a bona fide NFL head coach. It was always obvious his players would play hard for him and maybe it was a matter of time before he caught up in the game management department.

-- Since we mentioned the Steelers, pretty remarkable that they were able to finish with a winning record considering how they looked when the Dolphins defeated them in that Sunday night game Oct. 23 — a game that ultimately determined the final AFC playoff spot. Then again, Mike Tomlin never has finished with a winning record, so we shouldn't be surprised. And, for Dolphins fans not aware of this, the guy can coach and the Dolphins certainly missed the boat when they interviewed him for their head-coaching position in 2007 before ultimately deciding to go with Cam Cameron.

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