Bills Quickly Turn Focus To Miami

Understandably the Buffalo Bills were still reeling Monday following a heartbreaking 17-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs an afternoon before, a game the Bills had the lead and seemingly control of for more than three quarters.  However detrimental the setback ultimately damages their playoff chances, they’re already fresh out of time to wallow in any self-pity.

The Bills travel to Miami Thursday night to face the Dolphins in prime time and despite both teams having a winning record (5-4) and math saying otherwise, both are surely approaching the contest like an elimination game, especially the Bills.  At 2-4 in conference play and a brutal schedule waiting down the stretch, the Bills must win in order to even entertain any realistic postseason hopes. Five conference losses, with AFC road trips to Denver and New England looming effectively wrecks any shot of winning a potential playoff tiebreaker.

While the Bills clearly wasted an abundance of golden opportunities to put away Kansas City, no one is feeling sorry for them, particularly not the Dolphins, who suffered a last minute 20-16 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Bills head coach Doug Marrone knows preparing for what’s expected to be an equally desperate Miami squad is an arduous task, especially on a short week.

"It’s accelerated. It’s much more challenging for what we have to do, because you come in after the (Chiefs) game and you literally walk across the street and come back in," Marrone told reporters Monday. "You’re waiting for things to come in and you’re prepping or you’re watching the game that you just played, which is what most of us did as we were waiting for the film to come in. How you prepare and how you practice is difficult and a challenge.”

How the Bills prepare and practice over the next few days can be problematic in trying to get over a tough loss quicker than normal, both physically and emotionally.

"It’s hard, but it’s something that you have to do," Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams told the media.  "You can’t let one loss turn into two, especially with a quick turnaround. The tough thing and the great thing about this league is that there’s the next week. You have to get prepared for it, especially a Thursday night game."

Despite Sunday’s loss to the Lions, Miami has played sound football lately.  They were previously winners their last three, including a 37-0 shellacking of San Diego; a team that handled Buffalo easy in Week three.  Miami can be particularly tough at home, having whupped New England in their season opener and narrowly falling to Green Bay by a field goal four weeks ago.

A big part of their turnaround revolves around quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who’s tossed seven touchdowns against two interceptions over the past four games, and also hurt teams with his legs. The former college wide receiver recently had a four-game run of at least 47 rushing yards.

Of course, the Bills have already beaten Miami this year in convincing fashion, 29-10 in Week two and know it can---and must be done again on Thursday.

Safety Aaron Williams thinks it’s advantageous to get the Dolphins on a short week rather a team they've yet to see this year, but knows they'll change some things from the first time around.

“It actually helps us a lot, having them earlier in the year, just to get a glimpse of what they do and how their offensive scheme is.” he said. “It definitely helps that we have a little bit of game film that we can look back on. That was a long, long time ago so I’m pretty sure they’ve changed up their offensive scheme.”

How much, if anything the Bills change between Sunday and Thursday is anyone’s guess.  One thing that could change is wide receiver Mike Williams being active.  He was benched against Kansas City and the Bills may are likely regretting their pregame decision to bench him Sunday.  Buffalo went without a touchdown in four trips to the red zone and Williams has spent his career being an asset inside the 20-yard line; catching 14 red zone touchdowns for Tampa Bay from 2010-12.  Still, the Bills elected to go with Marquise Goodwin over Williams on the field—the second time in three games that’s happened.

Clearly Williams didn’t like the decision.  He told ESPN.com’s Mike Rodrak Monday the move was clearly the wrong choice, at least in his mind.

"Because I know for a fact that it is," he told Rodrak. "I know my abilities, I know my talents, I know how I can help," he said. "That's why I think it's the wrong decision. But from the team aspect, that's the coach's decision to make that. "

Goodwin saw just nine snaps against the Chiefs and left the game banged up following a kickoff return in the second half. Unfortunately for Goodwin, being injured has become the norm.

Other Bills players worth monitoring over the next few days include running back Fred Jackson and wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Both played through injured groins on Sunday, but Jackson’s time was limited (37% of the offensive snaps) while Watkins wasn’t as effective as usual; catching just four passes for 27 yards.

As usual, Marrone offered little clue to any potential lineup and scheme changes for Thursday.

"For us, will we make some changes? Yes, we will. Are they going to be dramatic changes? Probably not. We don’t have enough time to know or feel comfortable about whether it’s going to work or not. You’ve just got to put your players in the best position to execute and play."