The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins meet on Thursday Night Football, both sitting in an identical position. The two teams are 5-4 and likely not making a run at the New England Patriots, who are 7-2. With that in mind, the Bills and Dolphins will be vying for Wild Card spots, which makes this game meaningful to both teams.
Bills vs. Dolphins 2014 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Buffalo and Miami will meet Thursday in hopes of staking position for a wild card berth.
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Buffalo is coming off a tough defeat at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite outgaining the Chiefs and leading through most of the game, the Bills were undone by three turnovers. In Detroit, the Dolphins rallied from an early 10-0 deficit against the Lions before relinquishing the lead and ultimately losing with under a minute to play.
The schedule down the stretch could be the main factor in determining which of these teams makes the playoffs. While each visit the Patriots and Broncos, Miami's only other game against an above-.500 team is a home date with the Ravens. Buffalo faces a tougher gauntlet, including home contests against the Browns and Packers. With 10 wins likely needed to make the AFC playoffs, a loss on Thursday would be devastating.
A matchup to watch will be Miami's offensive line against a nasty Buffalo front seven. The Bills racked up six sacks on Alex Smith last week, led by defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. Dareus has 10.5 sacks to lead a Buffalo team that has a league-leading 34 on the year. The Dolphins lost left tackle Branden Albert for the season last Sunday, forcing rookie right tackle Ja'Wuan James to switch sides. James will face Mario Williams on most snaps, who has seven sacks.
How to Watch
Where: SunLife Stadium, Miami
When: 8:25 p.m. ET
TV: NFLN
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson
Online streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile | NFL.com
Odds
Miami is favored by 5.5 points at home over Buffalo, with an over/under of 42, per OddsShark.
Further Reading
For more on the Bills, check out Buffalo Rumblings.
To keep up on the Dolphins, head over to The Phinsider.
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