MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — In a fairer world, the Miami Dolphins would have gotten a Victory Monday after their dramatic, come-from-behind win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Instead, with the four-time defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills coming to town Thursday night, they got a Victory Sunday Early Evening.
First Look at Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins
“Fans were rolling deep [at Hard Rock Stadium] yesterday, so we didn’t get back until maybe 5:30,” Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold said Monday. “Got to just hang out by the house, grill out some dinner, and then, you know, we’re right back at it 7 a.m. this morning. It is a quick turnaround.”
If there is a silver lining, it’s this: The Dolphins should be both prepared and motivated when the lights come on.
There’s of course great familiarity between the Bills and Dolphins. They play at least twice every year. And maybe the short week with a prime-time game will help Miami. Nothing else has really worked.
Buffalo has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, and those games, by and large, haven’t even been competitive. The Bills’ average margin of victory in those 12 games? 14.5 points.
“It’s probably the easiest flush that our team could have, you know?” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said postgame when asked how challenging it would be to reset the emotions of Sunday’s win in time to get ready for Buffalo.
“Everybody’s very prepared about what they’re going to hear and expects to hear it, as they should,” he added. “… They’ll enjoy it, but they’ll be rested, and division games are always awesome and a lot of fun. I’m sure this one will be, as well.”
First place was on the line the last time these teams met (Week 18 in Miami, a game won by Buffalo 21-14). It will be again on Thursday. The Dolphins, Bills, and New England Patriots won Sunday (the New York Jets play the San Francisco 49ers Monday night).
The AFC East might be the most competitive division in football this year, but the assumption should be that the division belongs to the Bills until someone takes it from them.
That’s priority No. 1 for Miami this season.
“We don’t like them, they don’t like us,” Ingold said. “It’s not a really big secret. We’re all very familiar with each other. It’s a Thursday night game, a short week. So, adversity is an opportunity.
“Really excited anytime you get to play the Bills. They’re atop of the AFC East as long as I’ve been here. And that’s the type of game that you want to play in prime time, with all the guys rolling deep and being able to lay it all out there.
“So, I mean, if you’re a competitor, you love playing the Bills. You know, you got a heck of a lot of respect for them across the board, and you got to play really sound football for four quarters to be able to compete, and that’s what we gotta do. We gotta put one together.”