Setting the Stage for the Week 3 Dolphins-Bills Matchup

The Miami Dolphins will look for their first victory in Buffalo since 2016, but more importantly get their 2025 season going in the right direction when they face the Bills at Highmark Stadium on Thursday night.

Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 3 Dolphins-Bills matchup.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (0-2) vs. BUFFALO BILLS (2-0)

• Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025

• Time: 8:15 PM EDT

• Site: Highmark Stadium; Orchard Park, N.Y.

• Weather.com Forecast: The temperature around Highmark Stadium between 8 p.m. and midnight on Thursday is expected to be 65-68 degrees. The forecast calls for partly cloudy and later mostly clear skies with little chance of rain and winds of 4-8 mph.

• TV: Amazon Prime, CBS Miami

• Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color analyst), Kaylee Hartung (sidelines)

FINAL INJURY REPORT

• Dolphins — CB Storm Duck (ankle), S Ifeatu Melifonwu (calf) and TE Darren Waller (hip) are out; DT Benito Jones (oblique), LB Chop Robinson (knee) and WR Jaylen Waddle (shoulder) are questionable.

• Bills — LB Matt Milano (pectoral) and DT Ed Oliver (ankle) are out; CB Taron Johnson (quad), DB Cam Lewis (shoulder) and LB Shaq Thompson (hamstring/hand) are questionable.

DOLPHINS-BILLS REGULAR SEASON HISTORY

• Regular season series history: Dolphins lead 61-56-1

• Last five meetings:

1. November 3, 2024 at Buffalo — Bills 30, Dolphins 27
2. September 12, 2024 at Miami — Bills 31, Dolphins 10
3. January 7, 2024 at Miami — Bills 21, Dolphins 14
4. October 1, 2023, at Buffalo — Bills 48, Dolphins 20
5. December 17, 2022, at Buffalo — Bills 32, Dolphins 29

• Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 38 (1970 at Miami; Dolphins 45, Bills 7)

• Dolphins' largest margin of defeat: 35 (2021 at Miami; Bills 35, Dolphins 0)

• Highest-scoring matchup: 82 points (1966 at Buffalo; Bills 58, Dolphins 24)

• Lowest-scoring matchup: 12 points (1983 at Buffalo; Dolphins 12, Bills 0)

• Former Bills players with the Dolphins: LB Tyrel Dodson (2019-23), CB Rasul Douglas (2023-24)

• Former Bills coaches with the Dolphins: Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver was Bills DL coach in 2013; assistant head coach/RB coach Eric Studesville was Bills RB coach from 2004-07 and run game coordinator/RB coach from 2008-09

• Former Dolphins players with the Bills: K Matt Prater, DT Jordan Phillips (on practice squad), S Jordan Poyer (on practice squad)

• Former Dolphins coaches with the Bills: Assistant DB coach Joe Danna

BILLS SCOUTING REPORT

The Bills entered the season among the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, despite some question marks, and nothing has changed that outlook after they outlasted the Baltimore Ravens in the spectacular Week 1 Sunday night game and then ran over the New York Jets last weekend. With the Bills, everything starts and ends with QB Josh Allen, the reigning MVP, who finds a way to make a major impact pretty much every game either with his passing or his running. The defense has question marks in the secondary, but can get after the quarterback.

THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN

If you're a believer in the desperation factor, then the current Dolphins are the poster children for a team that needs to find some inspiration to overcome a significant challenge. While the Dolphins are heavy underdogs in this game, let's not forget they easily could have won three recent games at Buffalo when they also were heavy underdogs, the three-point losses in the 2022 regular season and playoffs and the 2024 game last year when the Bills won on a 61-yard walk-off field goal. Tua Tagovailoa is coming off a game where his passer rating was very good but he came up short on the final two drives, but he also had a very good performance his last time out at Highmark Stadium. The Dolphins defense figures to have its hands full with Josh Allen and company, but maybe this is the game where they finally record a takeaway that can make the difference in the outcome.

THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE

The Bills currently look like maybe the best team in the NFL and a lot of the national media have the Dolphins as the worst team, so we can start there. Allen's mastery over the Dolphins, beyond his 12-2 record as a starter against Miami, is well documented and there was nothing over Miami's first two games to suggest Allen won't put up big numbers again Thursday night. The Buffalo defense also has shut down Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as well as any opponent in the NFL, if not better, and the Bills only added to their pass rush with the addition of Joey Bosa, who's looking more early in the 2025 season like the dominant force he once was than the oft-injured inconsistent pass rusher of recent years.

FINAL DOLPHINS-BILLS PREDICTION

This game features the biggest point spread (12) of the NFL season so far and it's difficult to argue against it based on the first two weeks. The Dolphins entered the season with question marks but now look like a team in disarray that could be on the verge of major changes and definitely is on the receiving end of all sorts of digs and jokes. This looks like it could be not only a season-turning game for the Dolphins, but maybe an era-turning game because if they get blown out on national TV, things are going to get even uglier in South Florida (if that's possible). The Dolphins have been brutal this season, but they have a good two-quarter stretch against the New England Patriots where they outscored them 20-3. It's probably a stretch to think the Dolphins can go to Highmark Stadium and pull off the Thursday night upset, but we're saying it's not a stretch to think they can build on the good moments against New England and offer a better performance. The view from here is the Dolphins will be competitive for most of the game before Buffalo pulls away.

Final Score: Bills 34, Dolphins 24