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Bills CB Taron Johnson turns and reaches out to grab Miami's De'Von Achane during first half action at Highmark Stadium on Nov. 3, 2024. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dolphins-Bills Week 3 Five Biggest Storylines

Originally posted on Miami Dolphins on SI
By Alain Poupart | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 5:15 PM ET

The Miami Dolphins will face a tough tall task when they go up against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Thursday night.

The Dolphins will be looking for their first win of the 2025 season, as well as their first win in Buffalo since the 2016 season.

Ahead of this matchup, we analyze the five biggest storylines beyond the obvious of whether the Dolphins can pull off a gigantic upset:

CAN THE DEFENSE SLOW DOWN JOSH ALLEN?

Allen has dominated the Dolphins like no other quarterback before him, and that includes Tom Brady, though the Miami defense has had a couple of games with decent success against him. In the 2023 season finale, the Dolphins picked him off twice after doing the same in the 2022 playoffs. But Allen also has topped 100 in passer rating in 10 of his 14 games against Miami, including a perfect 158.3 in the game at Buffalo in 2023. It's going to be a tough task, but the Dolphins defense at the very least has to slow down Josh Allen after making Daniel Jones and Drake Maye look like, well, Josh Allen.

DOING THE SIMPLE THINGS

The loss against New England in Week 2 was disappointing, and part of what made it so bad was that the Dolphins committed penalties for both a false start and a delay of game on each of the final two drives. It was, quite frankly, amateurish stuff by the offense. This obviously can't happen in this game if the Dolphins are to have any chance of pulling off the upset and we'll go as far as saying that more of the same wouldn't be good for Mike McDaniel's job security.

BULL'S-EYE ON BOSA

Remember when the Dolphins were interested in signing veteran Joey Bosa in the offseason and we pointed out that maybe it wasn't a great idea because Bosa's play had slipped in the past couple of years amid a rash of injuries. Well, things didn't start off well for Bosa in Buffalo as he missed the offseason program with an injury, but then he stayed healthy throughout training camp and already looks like a potential difference-maker for the Bills, with PFF ranking him as the second-best edge defender in the NFL in the first two weeks of the season. Bosa usually lines up on the left side of the defense, which means current right tackle Larry Borom has to come ready to play.

ACHANE ACTION

We quite frequently include Tyreek Hill in any preview story, but in this case we're thinking it's running back De'Von Achane who's got the biggest chance of making the difference on offense. And he's certainly got the track record against the Bills. In four career games against the Bills, Achane has scored six touchdowns, at least one in every game. It's even better in Buffalo, where Achane scored two touchdowns in 2023 and another two in 2024. Achane had a touchdown in each of the first two games, but he has yet to put big rushing number this season, but he does have a 100-yard game against the Bills. Another one here would be just fine.

TUA TIME

Tua Tagovailoa took a lot of flak in certain circles this week for his comment about "I can't do half of what he does," and from this vantage point it was much ado about nothing because he didn't say anything that's not obvious to any football fan. That said, this would be a great opportunity for Tagovailoa to show the skills he does possess, which is something he did last season in the game at Buffalo when he completed 25 of 28 passes and had the Dolphins on the verge of an upset victory.