One week after struggling with a Cam Newton-led rushing attack, the Dolphins will face the would-be poor-man's Cam in Josh Allen. After talking about reducing Allen's carries in training camp, underrated offensive coordinator Brian Daboll did the opposite last week, calling seven Allen runs before calling one for Devin Singletary. The Bills' offense is also smartly getting the ball out of Allen's hand quickly and using far more play-action. The Dolphins were handled twice by the Bills last season, have very little continuity and rank below average in every position group outside the secondary. That's a bad combination against a cohesive Bills squad.
Bills 27, Dolphins 17
MDS's take: The Bills looked impressive in Week One, and I think they're going to make it 2-0 against AFC East opponents.
MDS's pick: Bills 24, Dolphins 21.
Florio's take: Tua time is coming.
Florio's pick: Bills 27, Dolphins 17.
It's always tempting to fade a big public favorite like the Bills, especially when they're laying 5.5 points against an improving division rival. Buffalo can be unpredictable, while the Miami Dolphins will at least have some fans in the crowd for their home opener Sunday.
But the Bills beat the Dolphins by double-digit margins in each of their 2019 meetings and have defeated them by at least six points in five of their last six matchups. As such, our writers are almost unanimously sticking with Sean McDermott's squad.
"It may be a little too early to buy into the Josh Allen hype, but there's no denying the Bills are a good all-around squad with what looks like improved quarterback play behind center," Sobleski said. "The same can't be said about the Dolphins, where the bad Ryan Fitzpatrick showed up last week against the New England Patriots. The Bills' secondary is every bit as good as New England's. Buffalo's continued growth should come to the forefront by winning a game it's supposed to win, and decidedly so."
The rebuilding Dolphins look as though they'll need more time to find their footing, while the Bills have failed to cover the spread only five times over their last 19 games. Don't overthink this one.
Predictions
Davenport: Buffalo
Gagnon: Buffalo
Kahler: Buffalo
Miller: Miami
Sobleski: Buffalo
Tesfatsion: Buffalo
Bills 27, Dolphins 14
What to watch for: In two games against the Dolphins in 2019, Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed 62.7% of his passes for 458 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions, along with 11 rushes for 88 yards and a touchdown. We should keep an eye on whether that success continues against a revamped Dolphins defense which now includes former Bills edge rusher Shaq Lawson but still gave up 217 rushing yards last week to the Patriots -- including 75 yards to Cam Newton. -- Cameron Wolfe
Bold prediction: The Bills will have two 100-yard receivers on Sunday. They ran a four-receiver set on a league-high 25% of their snaps last week, and despite the Dolphins' struggles against the run in Week 1, the Bills will commit once again to their passing game. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques
What to know for fantasy: Allen has thrown multiple touchdown tosses nine times in his career, and he is 4-for-4 against the Dolphins and 5-for-25 against the rest of the NFL.
Louis-Jacques' pick: Bills 31, Dolphins 17
Wolfe's pick: Bills 27, Dolphins 16
This will be the Dolphins home opener after they lost at New England last week. Buffalo was impressive in their opener, but this won't be an easy road game. The Dolphins will be feisty here, but Buffalo is the better team and Josh Allen has a second good game. Bills take it.
Bills 23, Dolphins 13
