After last week’s comeback victory over the Raiders, the Miami Dolphins prepare to face the Bills in Week 17, the last week of the NFL season. Buffalo has yet to announce whether they will rest their starters or not. However, it is most likely that they will, at least at halftime. The Bills will most likely rest Stefon Diggs, Josh Allen, and other key players. This means that Miami has a much better shot to win and make the playoffs. It’s as simple as that. If the Dolphins win, they automatically clinch the 5 seed. If they lose they could still make playoffs and be anywhere from the 5 to 7 seeds. They could miss the playoffs if they lose and all the other teams win. So there are two options to get in. Either winning, or losing and having at least one of these three teams lose; Browns (Play the Steelers without Big Ben), Ravens (Play Bengals), or Colts (Play Jaguars).
Injury Report
The Dolphins have a few questionable players and one major absence from the roster this week. Coming in as questionable are Jakeem Grant, Solomon Kindley, Bobby McCain, and DeVante Parker. Both Parker and Grant were out last week. If Parker and Grant are out once again, expect a big role from Isaiah Ford. There is a huge absence to note. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will be out after testing positive for Covid-19. Luckily, there were no close contacts related to Fitzpatrick. So it will be all Tua on Sunday, with no help this time from Fitzpatrick.
For the Bills, there is no Cole Beasley, nor rookie Reggie Gillam who are both out for Sunday’s game. They did activate John Brown off the Covid list, but who knows whether he will play or not. Lastly, the Bills do not know whether Jake Fromm will play, and if Josh Allen decides to rest, it will most likely be backup Matt Barkley.
Tua Tagovailoa
Sunday will be Tua’s biggest game of his career. Not only are the Dolphins’ playoff chances in jeopardy, but losing this game could hurt Tua’s future in Miami going forward. This game is Tua’s perfect chance to prove that he is developed as an NFL QB. Also, there is no Fitzpatrick for Tua to rely on. It is all Tua Tagovailoa in this game, even if he struggles.
Authors Prediction
The Dolphins should be able to overpower the Bills. Without their main starters, the Bills will flop like a fish and go down. It may seem close at the start, but the Dolphins should separate from the Bills and continue to as the game goes on. Expect pressure from the Bills, but not enough to sink the playoff hopes from the Dolphins. The Dolphins should be able to clinch the 5th seed in the AFC, and even the 3rd pick in the NFL Draft due to a likely Texans loss against the Titans.