It all comes down to this.
It was only a month ago that the Dolphins looked like they’d go wire-to-wire to win the AFC East while the Bills were left for dead. In Week 12, Miami easily handled the Jets, 34-13, to extend its record to 8-3. Meanwhile, Buffalo fell to the Eagles, 37-34, for its third loss in four games and dropped to 6-6.
However, each team’s fortunes have gone in opposite directions from that moment on. After a bye week to heal up, Buffalo has surged to four straight wins. On the other hand, the Dolphins have gone 3-2 while suffering an overwhelming number of key injuries.
The Bills handled business on Sunday with a 27-21 win over the Patriots. The Dolphins were embarrassed in a 56-19 beatdown to the Ravens. As a result, Buffalo and Miami will face off next week in Miami with the AFC East crown on the line.
Buffalo was +220 at DraftKings to win the division after Week 15 when it was two games behind Miami with three games left. The Bills are now listed at -130 to win while Miami is +110. The Bills manhandled the Dolphins back in Week 4, beating them 48-20. Josh Allen accounted for five touchdowns in that game, throwing four TD strikes while running for another.
Miami enters Week 18’s winner-take-all clash severely banged up.
Jaylen Waddle (ankle) and Raheem Mostert (knee/ankle) missed Sunday’s game against the Ravens. Waddle isn’t expected back until the playoffs while Mostert – who leads the league with 21 touchdowns – has nursed several injuries over the last month. Tyreek Hill’s performed well but hasn’t looked like his usual self since missing Week 15’s win over the Jets with an ankle injury.
Things got even worse on Sunday as several more star players suffered potentially significant injuries. Star cornerback Xavien Howard was carted into the locker room and quickly ruled out after injuring his foot on the first defensive drive of the game. Bradley Chubb left late with a non-contact injury, and early reports are that he tore his ACL.
Finally, Tua Tagovailoa hurt his shoulder and was deemed questionable to return, but stayed on the sideline with the game well out of hand. He assured the media after the game he’d be fine, though, saying he was merely sore.
