The Buffalo Bills seemed to be trending in the tight direction after beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9 to get to 6-2 on the season. On Sunday, they undid all of that good work with a shocking 30-13 loss to the lowly Miami Dolphins on the road, a team that Buffalo has normally dominated in the past.
It was an odd result, especially considering that the two teams seemed to be going in opposite directions coming into that game. However, Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau had one potential reason for the flat showing, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post.
“It’s different playing in the heat because we don’t really do it that often,” Rousseau said. “Not making an excuse.”
Now, there are a couple of problems with this take, Firstly, it started raining during the game in the first half. While it was still warm out, it wasn't like the Bills were out there in the blistering sun all afternoon. Secondly, Rousseau was born in Florida, played his high school ball in Florida, and played his college ball at the University of Miami… in Florida.
You would think that more than 20 years in Florida would get someone acclimated to the heat there, but maybe not!
On top of that, Bills players complaining about the heat in Florida before going back home to the bad weather capital of America in Buffalo seems a bit backwards. Regardless, maybe it was enough to throw them off of their game on Sunday.
The Bills are now 6-3 on the season and are 1.5 games back of the 8-2 New England Patriots in the AFC East following their seventh win in a row. Drake Maye and the Pats also have a head-to-head win over Buffalo, so they are in the drivers seat for the division crown this year.
The Bills will get another crack at the Patriots coming up in Week 15, but they have a lot to think about before then. Rousseau and the rest of his Buffalo teammates will try to get things back on the right track against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what should be a much cooler Buffalo, New York in Week 11.
