Three Matchups in Bills-Dolphins Thursday Night Football to Watch
The Buffalo Bills will play the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. Eastern. The first game of Week Two will also be both teams’ first divisional game which will heavily influence AFC East standings. There will be many matchups to look out for in this battle of two rivals. Here are three key matchups to keep an eye on.
Gregory Rousseau vs. Terron Armstead & Austin Jackson
Rousseau had arguably the best game of his career in the season opener. The 24-year-old edge rusher compiled three sacks, a forced fumble, and six tackles altogether en route to winning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Rousseau will have to prove himself again against Armstead, a five-time Pro Bowler, and Jackson, who earned an 80.5 PFF offensive grade. He’ll have his work cut out for him as the offensive tackle duo shut down premier pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen. Hines-Allen, who earned a Pro Bowl nod last season after finishing with 17.5 sacks, was held to no sacks even though Tua Tagovailoa attempted 37 passes. It will be an uphill battle for Rousseau, but hopefully, he can disrupt the potent Miami offense.
Khalil Shakir & Dalton Kincaid vs. Kader Kohou
Last week, the Dolphins schemed up a great defensive game plan against Jacksonville, giving up only 139 passing yards and a 57.1 completion percentage. Despite this, Kohou, Miami’s slot cornerback, left much to be desired. According to PFF, Kohou gave up four catches on six targets for 67 yards on only 25 coverage snaps. Against Arizona, Shakir and Kincaid took the most snaps at slot receiver, with Shakir at 18 and Kincaid at 16. Assuming this trend continues, their matchup against Kohou will be one that offensive coordinator Joe Brady may try to exploit.
Dolphins’ Running Back Committee vs. Bills’ Front Seven
The Bills had a tough go of it against Arizona’s running game in Week One, giving up 124 yards, five yards per carry, and a touchdown. They’ll go up against a banged-up Dolphins backfield; Raheem Mostert was ruled out and De’Von Achane is questionable. Behind Achane is Jeff Wilson, Jr., who recorded one less snap than Achane last week, and rookie Jaylen Wright, who didn’t play at all due to the crowded backfield. In the last three games versus the Bills, the Dolphins averaged 146 rushing yards per game, 6.8 yards per carry, and ran for four touchdowns. First-year defensive coordinator Bobby Babich is likely to focus on the pass with the explosive Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle drawing attention from Buffalo’s defensive backs. However, Mike McDaniel’s rushing attack has never been something to scoff at. Linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams as well as defensive tackles Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones will need their A-game to shut down the run.
