For the 123rd time in the storied rivalry, the Dolphins and Bills will tee it up on Thursday Night Football at Hard Rock Stadium. It's been a series of swings dating back to the 1970's, and now the Dolphins hope to throw the pendulum back in the other direction following four consecutive losses to Buffalo.
Here's what the players and coaches are saying ahead of this pivotal showdown.
DOLPHINS VS. BILLS
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa - "Guys are ready to play this game and there's just been a lot of guys that have been here for their off days – not just getting work in, but talking to each other, communicating things that we could get better with. And then going into this week, talking personnel, talking 'Hey, this guy does this really well, maybe this, that or whatever.' There's just been a lot of guys up here in the building the past day or so since we've played. So I think that's a good thing for us."
Defensive Tackle Zach Sieler - "It's a division game, it's time to take the East. Let's go for it. I think it's really exciting to kind of hit the ground running early on in this season and show what we are made of right up front."
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver - "Knowing what this game means to the organization, there are some things that really didn't need to be said. As soon as the schedule came out and you saw this game, particularly a Thursday night game, Game 2, is one you kind of circle. So, it's a short week – Thursday games aren't easy for anybody, but this one's going to be a little bit easier for our guys because who our opponent is. It won't require a lot of motivation from me. These guys will be jacked up to play and show who we are in front of a nationally televised audience."
LESSONS LEARNED FROM WEEK 1
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa - "We have a good enough team to be able to just start fast, start the way we want to. It doesn't have to get to that point for any of us, and we got to hold each other to the standard that we said we wanted to, that's all that was."
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith - "The guys have excellent communication skills and that comes into the trust you build with the guys through all their time here. And it has to be an open communication because they're playing and they have to tell us what they're seeing, because our vantage point is different, and they can't come off to the sideline until the drive is done so they have to problem solve in the moment. So when they come off and they're problem solving with us, a lot of the time they kind of already know and they're making their adjustments."
For more analysis on the Dolphins Thursday night clash with the Bills, download Drive Time with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
