Setting the Stage for the Dolphins-Bills Week 8 Matchup

The Miami Dolphins will look to end their six-game losing streak when they face the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.

Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 8 Dolphins-Bills matchup:

MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-6) vs. BUFFALO BILLS (4-2)

DATE: Sunday, Oct. 31

TIME: 1 p.m. ET

SITE: Highmark Stadium; Orchard Park, N.Y.

WEATHER FORECAST: Temperatures between 1 and 4 p.m. ET will range between 53 and 54 degrees, according to AccuWeather.com, with cloudy and cloudy skies and a chance of precipitation between 25 and 47 percent in the 3 p.m. hour). The wind is expected to be 10-12 mph with gusts up to 14-15 mph.

TV: CBS

STREAMING: fuboTV

TV distribution: The game will be shown in South Florida, most of New York state, and parts of Wyoming.

Announcers: Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), James Lofton (color analyst), Sherree Burruss (sidelines)

SI Sportsbook betting line: Bills by 14 (over/under 48.5)

Final Injury Report:

Dolphins — CB Xavien Howard (shoulder/groin), CB Noah Igbinoghene (knee), C Greg Mancz (groin) and WR DeVante Parker (shoulder/hamstring) are questionable.

Bills — TE Dawson Knox (hand) is out; T Spencer Brown (back) is doubtful; DT Justin Zimmer (foot) is questionable.

Regular season series history: The Dolphins lead 60-50-1

Last five meetings:

Sept. 19, 2021 at Miami; Bills 35, Dolphins 0

Jan. 3, 2021 at Buffalo; Bills 56, Dolphins 26

Sept. 20, 2020 at Miami; Bills 31, Dolphins 28

Nov. 17, 2019 at Miami; Bills 37, Dolphins 20

Oct. 20, 2019 at Buffalo; Bills 31, Dolphins 21

Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 38 (1970 at Miami; Dolphins 45, Bills 7)

Bills' largest margin of victory: 35 (2021 at Miami; Bills 35, Dolphins 0)

Highest-scoring matchup: 82 points (1966 at Buffalo; Bills 58, Dolphins 24 ... 2020 season at Buffalo; Bills 56, Dolphins 26

Lowest-scoring matchup: 12 points (1983 at Buffalo; Dolphins 12, Bills 0)

Former Bills players with the Dolphins:

None

Former Bills coaches with the Dolphins:

Assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Danny Crossman; co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Eric Studesville; assistant strength and conditioning coach Jim Arthur

Former Dolphins players with the Bills:

RB Matt Breida (2020), OL Jamil Douglas (2015-16), P Matt Haack (2017-20)

Former Dolphins coaches with the Bills:

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll

Other connections

Dolphins assistant GM Marvin Allen was a national scout for the Bills in 2017-18 ... Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen working in the Dolphins scouting department from 2008-14, including one year (2014) as director of player personnel ... Dolphins long-snapper Blake Ferguson is the younger brother of Bills long-snapper Reid Ferguson ... Dolphins TE Hunter Long and Bills TE Tommy Sweeney were teammates at Boston College in 2017-18. ... Dolphins WR Mack Hollins and Bills backup QB Mitchell Trubisky were teammates at the University of North Carolina from 2014-16.

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BILLS SCOUTING REPORT

For a second consecutive game, the Dolphins will be facing a team coming off their bye. In Buffalo's case, it came after a disappointing Monday night loss at Tennessee after Josh Allen was stuffed on a last-minute quarterback sneak. Before that game, many pundits had anointed the Bills as the team to beat in the AFC, which just might remain the case after Baltimore was blown out at home last weekend by Cincinnati. The Bills again have an explosive offense, led by Allen, but it's the defense that's been the big story so far this season. Buffalo leads the league in total defense and has recorded two shutouts in six games, including its 35-0 victory at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 2.

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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN ...

Considering they are 14-point underdogs, it's not easy to find many paths to victory in this game for the Dolphins. The simplest would seem to be going back to the defensive ways of 2020 and forcing two or three (maybe even four) Buffalo turnovers, which obviously is easier said than done. Offensively, the Dolphins' top priority needs to be protecting Tua Tagovailoa in the hopes he can build off his past two performances and help the offense move the ball and score points.

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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE ...

Anybody who's seen the past five Bills-Dolphins games quickly will realize that Josh Allen is the biggest obstacle to a Miami victory. Put simply, the Dolphins just haven't figured him out yet. Sure, there have been patches of success (including the first quarter of last year's season finale), but nothing sustained. So why should we think Sunday will be any different? We'd also expect the Dolphins offense to do a better job against the Bills pass rush than in Week 2, but is it fair to expect a lot of points from a team that got shut out by this opponent six weeks ago?

FINAL DOLPHINS-BILLS PREDICTION

The Dolphins have lost the past six matchups, by an average score of 38-18 and haven't allowed less than 31 points in any of those games. The Dolphins haven't scored more than 28 points in any game this season. The Bills are 14-point favorites. See where we're getting at? We absolutely expect the Dolphins to put on a better performance than they did in the Week 2 matchup, even though in that game let's not forget they had several chances to get back into the game in the first half before things got out of control after halftime. In the end, though, the Dolphins simply aren't on the same level as the Bills, and the fact Buffalo is coming off a bye and looking to get back on tract after that disappointing Monday night loss isn't going to help. Bills 33, Dolphins 20.