Second of 2-part series: Some things Miami Dolphins can build on from 2020 losses to Bills

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

As we await the Dolphins-Bills game on Sunday, I went back and studied tape of the Buffalo Bills’ 56-26 annihilation of the Dolphins to close last season and explained HERE what must change.

In part 2 of this 2-part series, we explore the positives - and glimmers of hope - that the Dolphins can build on from that game and the 31-28 loss to the Bills in Week 2.

Predictably, part 2 is considerably shorter than Part 1, which was an explanation of what must be fixed.

THINGS TO BUILD ON

Eric Rowe’s play against tight end Dawson Knox.

He held the Bills tight end to one catch on seven targets for 19 yards in the finale. Though Rowe’s performance against Patriots tight ends was uneven in the opener, Rowe generally has been excellent against tight ends not named Travis Kelce or Darren Waller.

If Rowe can hold Knox in check, that’s a start.

Attacking cornerback Levi Wallace in coverage.

DeVante Parker burned him for a long catch in the first game last season, and Mike Gesicki caught 3 of 3 passes against him for 52 yards. That’s an area the Dolphins can exploit.

So basically Miami needs to throw to the receiver who’s not being covered by the Pro Bowl cornerback Tre’Davious White, who sat out the teams’ Week 17 game last season.

White can’t cover Parker and Jaylen Waddle at once, of course. So there will be opportunities.

Both White and Wallace struggled in Buffalo’s opening loss against Pittsburgh last Sunday.

Attack linebacker Matt Milano in coverage.

Though Milano is a productive NFL player, his pass coverage at times is a vulnerability in the Bills’ defense. He allowed six completions for 86 yards in the Dolphins-Bills finale, including 40 yards on two catches by Myles Gaskin, who - along with Salvon Ahmed - can catch the Bills flat footed in the passing game on Sunday.

If the Dolphins can get Ahmed isolated on Milano on the type of 20-plus yard sideline throws we saw during training camp, that’s a potential area to exploit.

Use the tight ends!

Gesicki caught 13 of 20 targets for 177 yards in the two games against Buffalo but was targeted only twice in the opener against New England and didn’t have a catch.

A Tua Tagovailoa roll out on a pass to Durham Smythe was one of Miami’s most effective first half plays in the Jan. 3 Bills game finale.

A short pattern to Adam Shaheen -- in which it initially looked like he was staying in to block and then released late -- gained 23 yards. Shaheen returns on Sunday after missing the opener due to COVID-19.

So the tight ends must be heavily involved on Sunday.

Trickery, anyone?

One of Miami’s best plays in that finale was a Tagovailoa toss to Lynn Bowden Jr., who threw 32 yards to Gaskin.

But with Bowden on injured reserve and Malcolm Perry now with New England, the Dolphins no longer have a former college quarterback to execute those plays.

Give Andrew Van Ginkel more playing time.

That’s going to happen. He graded out as Miami’s top front seven defender in that Bills-Dolphins Week 17 finale; he played 46 snaps to Kyle Van Noy’s 64. Van Noy struggled in that game, and the Dolphins parted ways with him two months later.

Van Ginkel played 53 of Miami’s 75 defensive snaps in the opener.

Play at a faster pace offensively.

Tagovailoa was often at his best without huddling, and CBS’ Trent Green chastised the Dolphins in that Week 17 finale for not playing faster: “I’d like to see more up tempo. You get a better rhythm as a quarterback.”

The Dolphins were very good going up-tempo to start last Sunday’s game against New England before moving away from it. Let’s see more of that against the division’s reigning champion.

“I think when we were moving at a fast pace, we were operating at a high level,” Gesicki said of the opener. “Tua got everybody lined up and did a very good job at going through his reads and making the right plays, and we were able to put the points on the board in those two situations.”

Biggest reason for hope?

Waddle, presumably, should be able to make more out of nothing than Bowden and Isaiah Ford could in last year’s game.

Not having Will Fuller on Sunday will hurt -- he’s missing the game due to personal reasons -- but the speed of Waddle and Albert Wilson could help open up space for Gaskin, who had one of his least productive games of the season at Buffalo, as well as Malcolm Brown and Salvon Ahmed.

Miami averaged just 3.5 yards per carry (70 yards overall) during that dreadful season finale.

The Dolphins hope their front seven is better than a year ago, but that’s dubious without Raekwon Davis, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

And the Dolphins hope the offensive line will be better because Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt (who both struggled in the Week 17 game) are older and perhaps better, with Hunt having moved from right tackle to right guard.

Here’s part 1 of the series.