The Buffalo Bills dominated the Miami Dolphins in every category except for the one that mattered most.
After losing 21-19 to the Miami Dolphins, the Bills fell to 2-1 on the year and into second place in the AFC East. It’s a long season, however, and Buffalo will have plenty of opportunities to move to the top of the division between now and January.
For now, Buffalo’s biggest concern has to be getting healthy. The team’s secondary, offensive line and defensive line have been hit hard with injuries early in 2022.
The secondary entered the game against the Dolphins without Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer and Dane Jackson. Christian Benford, the team’s other starting cornerback was added to that list and will miss some time after fracturing his hand. Jackson returned to practice on Wednesday and Poyer seems to be trending in the right direction as well. Buffalo also signed Xavier Rhodes to their practice squad on Wednesday for additional depth and Tre’Davious White’s stint on the PUP list will come to an end after Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Things could get better fast for the secondary despite them being without Hyde, arguably the heart and soul of the defense, for the remainder of the year.
The offensive line is also a bit of a concern. At the end of Sunday’s game, Buffalo’s OL featured backups at center (third string), right guard and right tackle. Mitch Morse could return on Sunday and Spencer Brown should play as well after exiting due to a heat illness. Ryan Bates’ status, however, is unclear after suffering a head injury.
Buffalo’s defensive tackle position has been without Ed Oliver (two games), Tim Settle (one game) and Jordan Phillips (one game) this season. Phillips is not expected to suit up against Baltimore, but Oliver could return to the fold this week.
Although Buffalo seems to be trending in the right direction in terms of getting valuable contributors back, the next few weeks will be challenging games for the Bills. Heading into their matchup against the Ravens, here is where Buffalo stands on various power rankings.
ESPN: No. 2 (Down 1)
Analysis:
While the Bills are coming off their first loss, Josh Allen has had an MVP-candidate start to the season. He has the league’s lowest rate of off-target throws (8.0%) and leads in passing first downs (49) as well. Allen’s completion percentage (71.2%) and interception percentage (1.5%) would both be career bests. Still, things haven’t been perfect. The Bills need to work on evening out the offense as Allen is also the team’s leading rusher (113 yards), but the fifth-year quarterback has set the groundwork early for yet another impressive season.
Sports Illustrated: No. 2 (Down 1)
Analysis:
Buffalo takes solace in this: They’re not cramping in Orchard Park. They kept the ball for more than 40 of 60 minutes. They, as Buffalo Rumblings noted this week, had a 51-play differential between themselves and the Dolphins, one of the largest margins in a loss in NFL history. They’ll be just fine.
Pro Football Talk: No. 3 (Down 2)
Analysis:
Ken Dorsey should switch to decaf after kickoff.
Yahoo: No. 1 (No change)
Analysis:
One of the main tenets of the power rankings here is, when there’s a difficult decision to be made we ask a simple question: If Team A played Team B on a neutral field, who would win? Well, I’d still pick the Bills to beat anyone listed above. You probably would too. A two-point road loss in sweltering heat, when they more than doubled up the Dolphins in yards, plays and time of possession, all with multiple starters out of the lineup, really doesn’t lead me to believe Buffalo isn’t the best team in the NFL. Every NFL team loses a game, unless you’re the 1972 Dolphins.
CBS Sports: No. 3 (Down 2)
Analysis:
The injuries are becoming a problem for this team, especially on defense. The talk of cruising to a Super Bowl has subsided for at least a week as they head to Baltimore to face a good Ravens team.
NFL.com: No. 2 (Down 1)
Analysis:
The Bills ran 51 more plays than the Dolphins and still got beat -- if you were offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, you’d probably lose your religion, too. Frustrations from an unusual game aside, the biggest concern in Buffalo is an injury-ravaged defense that was without five starters in Miami. The secondary has been particularly besieged: Star safety Micah Hyde is out for the year with a neck injury, while safety Jordan Poyer (foot) and cornerbacks Dane Jackson (neck) and Christian Benford (who suffered a fractured hand against Miami) have all been sidelined. On Sunday, the Dolphins were able to exploit the Bills’ untested backups with some big downfield strikes; it’s a trend that will continue as long as Buffalo is undermanned.
Bleacher Report: No. 3 (Down 2)
Analysis:
Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins notwithstanding, a compelling argument can be made that the Buffalo Bills remain the best team in the league. They have been a buzzsaw offensively, including piling up a whopping 497 yards of offense in Week 3.
But despite that yardage, the Bills scored only 19 points against the Dolphins. And while their defense held Miami to only 212 yards of offense, they could have some problems arising on that side of the ball after pacing the league in both yards and points allowed in 2021.
The Bills played Week 3 without both of their longtime safeties. Jordan Poyer was sidelined by a foot injury, while Micah Hyde will miss the rest of the season after injuring his neck in last week’s win over the Tennessee Titans. Combined with the continued absence of Pro Bowl cornerback Tre’Davious White, the league’s best secondary is suddenly precariously short-handed.
That banged-up defensive backfield could quickly become a real problem for the Bills. Next week, Buffalo travels to face the surging Ravens, and Week 6 brings the latest matchup between Josh Allen and the Bills and Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
READ MORE
Bills add former All-Pro CB to practice squad
Ken Dorsey’s outburst has Tom Brady glad he’s not the only one throwing tantrums
Bills fall to Dolphins, but Buffalo may have monster in Greg Rousseau (Encouraged/worried)
Why Bills coach Sean McDermott loved Ken Dorsey’s postgame meltdown (sort of)
Talk about the Bills
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