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Dolphins take to road for divisional test with Bills

Sep 11, 2014 - 6:29 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - If you were looking for big statistics from EJ Manuel in Week 1, you probably came away disappointed. But if you're a Buffalo Bills fan, it's probably not bothering you too much.

The second-year quarterback completed just 16 passes for 173 yards and was intercepted once in his 2014 debut against the Chicago Bears, preferring instead to give the lion's share of the workload to backfield mates C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson - who combined for 114 of the team's 193 rush yards.

The numbers came in at 5.8 yards per carry for the team whose sale to local billionaire Terry Pegula was green-lighted by the family of the late former owner, Ralph C. Wilson, earlier this week. The pickings figure to be a bit slimmer when it comes to ground work against the Miami Dolphins, though.

Miami held New England to only 89 yards on the ground in its Week 1 victory, the lowest total the Patriots had mustered against the Dolphins in six years. The defense also put clamps on quarterback Tom Brady, who managed just 4.45 yards per pass attempt in the 33-20 defeat.

Brady was sacked four times and fumbled twice after hits by Cameron Wake, who was subsequently deemed the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week.

Still, the Patriots' scheme of 56 passes to 20 runs is far different than the approach preferred by Buffalo, which threw the ball 22 times against the Bears while carrying it 33 times. And it won't help matters that the Dolphins will be without starting linebacker Danell Ellerbee thanks to a hip injury, and could have a hobbled Koa Misi, who left in the first half last week with an ankle issue.

Misi did not participate in Wednesday's practice and another starter, Phillip Wheeler, was limited during the session with a thumb problem.

Buffalo's defense was gashed for 427 yards against Chicago and suffered some nicks of its own to linebacker Keith Rivers, who also did not practice Wednesday with a bad hip, and safety Aaron Williams, who was limited at practice after being evaluated for a concussion during the Bears game.

The Bills got to Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill seven times in a 19-0 victory last December and held the Dolphins to just 103 yards of total offense in the third most anemic performance in franchise history.

New to the fold since then is running back Knowshon Moreno, who rumbled for 134 yards and scored once in his Miami debut to complement holdover Lamar Miller, who scored a receiving touchdown and ran 11 times for 58 more yards.

Needless to say, the challenge in September for Buffalo is far different than the last time around.

"Did you see (Moreno) out there?" Miami center Samson Satele said. "He's a crazy dude. You give him a little crease and away he goes."

Just as importantly, Tannehill was sacked just once in the opener after sustaining 93 sacks - most in the league - in his first two seasons. He completed 18-of-32 passes for 178 yards and was intercepted once while throwing for two scores, one to Miller and one to Mike Wallace, and the team's 25 first downs matched its high from 2013.

The second-half total yardage was a rout, too, leaning in the Dolphins' favor by a 222-67 count.

"That Ryan was upright most of the game was big for us," Wallace said.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Welcome to the NFL, Kid

Buffalo defensive end Mario Williams had a pair of tackles and a sack in the opener and presumably finds himself opposite rookie Ju'Wuan James in Week 2.

James is no dwarf at 6-foot-6 and 318 pounds - compared to Williams' 6-6, 295- pound frame - but his footwork will be key in handling both the speed and power that Williams has employed since entering the league in 2006.

Coming from Both Sides

The Bills were lit up for 349 yards through the air by Jay Cutler last week, with 126 of those yards coming on connections to either running backs or slot receivers.

The Dolphins have those sorts of receivers in spades when it comes to guys like Brian Hartline, Jarvis Landry and Brandon Gibson, not to mention the threat of both Miller and Moreno coming out of the backfield.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

If you're labeling which team's opener was more impressive, you might find yourself giving the nod to the Bills for going on the road to handle a team that some are considering a dark horse candidate for NFC supremacy this season.

But while the Dolphins aren't as flashy, they're still pretty good moving the ball and their defense is much better. Unless Manuel ups his level, the latter will be the difference.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Dolphins 24, Bills 14