The Miami Dolphins have a significant game scheduled in Week 18 against the Buffalo Bills. The prize is simple, the winner obtains the AFC East crown. It does not get any bigger than this. Well, instead for the playoffs, but let's take it one step at a time.
For the Dolphins, they already have a playoff spot locked in, but where they will be seeded is still unknown. If they beat the Bills Sunday, they get the No. 2 seed and have a home playoff game scheduled against a bevy of opponents.
However, if they lose, they drop all the way down to the No. 6 seed and would have to travel to take on a team. One possibility would be facing the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium.
On the Bills side, there is a chance that if they lose, they are out of the playoffs completely. Let's just say that each team is hungry, especially Miami who is coming off of a deflating loss to the Baltimore Ravens while the Bills beat the New England Patriots the week before.
With that being said, let's move on to our Dolphins Week 18 predictions where they will face the Bills in the battle for the AFC East.
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Dolphins offense comes back alive
Dolphins fans have been wondering where is the explosive offense that was present in the beginning of the season. While you can't have every game scoring 70 points, Sunday night is going to showcase the fireworks fans were used to seeing earlier in the fall of 2023.
Besides the talent of players like quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and playmakers like Tyreek Hill, De'Von Achane, and others, they still remember the performance they had against the Bills earlier in the season. The Dolphins have been battle-tested to the max, meaning they are going to come in hungry as ever to defeat their AFC East rival.
Expect the connection between Tagovailoa and Hill to be in its best form Sunday night as fans will see vintage performances from the both of them. The running game will be on point too with the aforementioned Achane and hopefully with the return of Raheem Mostert who missed last week's game against the Ravens.
Defense figuring out itself with losses
There is no doubt that the defense is in flux as they will be missing two important players. Head coach Mike McDaniel said he does not expect Miami star cornerback Xavien Howard to play, but at the very least, he will be returning. The bigger blow is pass rusher Bradley Chubb who tore his ACL in the loss to Baltimore when they were up by 30 points.
The decision to leave him in the game will haunt McDaniel and the coaching staff, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will have to figure out and adapt. Fans could be in store for more blitz packages Sunday night where linebackers or defensive backs will try to chase Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
However, expect the Bills offense to be on point in primetime as the two offenses could go back and forth in a shootout.
Dolphins will win the AFC East
You read that correctly, the Miami Dolphins will not only win this game, but the division for the first time since 2008. It is going to be a battle of which team outlasts the other and the Dolphins will limit mistakes on both sides of the ball, which was the opposite of last week against the Ravens.
It will be an impressive win over a rival, especially how convincingly the Bills won earlier in the season. The win will be in the style of the Dallas Cowboys victory from a couple of weeks ago, but with more offense. After the huge win, the Dolphins will look to win a playoff game, a feat they have not done since 2000 in the Wild Card round.
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