Subscribe
Follow Us
The Miami Dolphins snuck into the NFL Playoffs after snapping a five-game losing streak with a Week 18 win over the New York Jets. They're set for a difficult Wild Card Round matchup against the Buffalo Bills, and the Dolphins will surely be feeling the absence of Tua Tagovailoa, who has been ruled out for Sunday's tilt. With a high-stakes playoff game on the horizon, we're going to make some bold Dolphins predictions vs. the Bills in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs.
The Dolphins had the definition of an up-and-down season. Miami endured both a five-game winning streak and a five-game losing streak throughout the 2022 campaign, and injuries to Tagovailoa crippled the team at the end of the year. Tagovailoa's concussion sidelined him for the final two games of the year and will also keep him out for Sunday's playoff opener.
The Dolphins are massive underdogs heading into Sunday's showdown. The Bills are 13.5-point favorites for the game, the largest among all the Wild Card teams, per FanDuel. Despite the lofty task looming ahead, the Dolphins will put their heads down and get to work. With all that said, here are some bold Dolphins predictions vs. the Bills in the Wild Card Round of these upcoming NFL Playoffs.
*Watch NFL Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
4. Skylar Thompson struggles in first playoff start
The Miami Dolphins will be putting basically all of their eggs into the basket of Skylar Thompson on Sunday. The seventh-round rookie will draw his third career start and the first playoff start of his career with Tagovailoa out and Teddy Bridgewater potentially only available in an “emergency” capacity.
In limited action this year, Thompson has looked the part of a seventh-rounder. He started two games and made seven total appearances in his rookie year, going 1-1 as a starter including the 11-6 win over the New York Jets in Week 18. In total, he completed 57.1 percent of his pass attempts for 534 yards, one TD, and three interceptions.
He'll be up against a Bills defense that ranked sixth in the NFL in terms of yards allowed. Additionally, the Bills ranked fourth in the NFL with 29 takeaways this season, averaging more than 1.7 per game. That doesn't bode well for an inexperienced quarterback preparing to play on the biggest stage of his career. Thompson will need to drown out the noise and focus on playing his own game, but even then, this could be a brutal outing for the rookie QB.
3. Dolphins find success on the ground
The Miami Dolphins will need to get creative on Sunday if they want to stun the Buffalo Bills. With Skylar Thompson under center, the Dolphins may look to run the ball more often. While Raheem Mostert is questionable for the game, Jeff Wilson Jr. should be ready to play without a hitch, and third-stringer Salvon Ahmed is also without an injury designation. While the Bills were a top-five run defense in the NFL during the regular season, they struggled a bit towards the end of the year, surrendering an average of 125 yards per game on the ground over the last three weeks of the season.
While the Dolphins ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of total rushing yards, they recorded 162 yards on the ground against the Jets in Week 18. They'll look to replicate that type of performance and feed their running backs, and possibly even Tyreek Hill, in order to pick up yards on the ground. The Dolphins prediction here is that Miami RBs rush for more than 125 yards and score a touchdown against the Bills' elite defense.
2. Miami picks off Josh Allen twice
If there's one area Josh Allen needs to improve upon, it's his pass accuracy. With a cannon for an arm, Allen tends to get a bit inaccurate at times. He threw 14 interceptions this year, one shy of the league lead, and led the NFL with five picks in the red zone. Those mistakes weren't quite as big a deal in the regular season, but in a playoff matchup, they could be crippling. The Dolphins have a capable secondary, though they underperformed throughout the season. Still, Xavien Howard is a quality player, and he could look to force a bad throw from Allen.
If Miami can force a turnover or two from Allen, this game could be flipped on its head. The Dolphins are massive underdogs, and rightfully so, but if Allen continues to make mistakes in key spots, Miami could capitalize on those errors.
1. Dolphins lose and Bills cover the spread
While imagining a Dolphins upset victory against the Bills in the Wild Card is intriguing, it's highly unlikely. The Bills are one of the hottest teams in football right now, winners of seven in a row. The Dolphins, on the other hand, just scraped by in Week 18 with their first win since Nov. 27. With two teams trending in opposite directions set to clash, the result could get ugly. The Bills are favored by two touchdowns, and it wouldn't be shocking to see them cover the spread and some.
The Dolphins could not have asked for a less favorable opening-round matchup, and unfortunately for Mike McDaniel and Co., we're expecting a lopsided victory for the Bills.
