Bills Central

5 stats you'll want to know from Bills' assertive 31-10 win over Dolphins

The Buffalo Bills defeated the rival Miami Dolphins to open AFC East play. Here are five stats that stand out from the performance.

Greg Vorse

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The Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-10 at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday Night Football to open up AFC East play. The win continued a string of impressive wins by the Bills over the Dolphins and placed them firmly atop the division to kick off the campaign; here are five incredible stats from the victory.

Sushi

Sean McDermott Mike McDaniel
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The Bills are now 12-2 against the Miami Dolphins when Josh Allen starts at quarterback; that includes 1-0 in the playoffs. Those numbers alone are eye-popping, but when you look at the margins of victory, it gets even more lopsided. During those 12 wins, Buffalo has won by 21, 28, 15, 35, 30, 17, and 25. Lastly, Miami has a .587 winning percentage against all non-New York teams since Allen was drafted and a .083 winning percentage against New York teams ('New York teams,' in this instance, referring to the one team that actually plays in New York state). That is dominance!

Related: Bills CB reflects on breakout outing: ‘I don’t even have words to describe’

AFC Beast

Josh Allen
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The numbers above show how stunning the Bills' supremacy over Miami is, but those types of victories continue throughout the division under Josh Allen's leadership. Since his 2018 rookie season, Buffalo has a league-high 17 10-point wins against its divisional foes. That is tied with the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East and two ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. Also, Buffalo's 14 wins against the Phins under Sean McDermott are the most wins against an opponent since 2017, per Bills' PR on Twitter.

Cooked

James Cook
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It shouldn't have taken to point No. 3 before James Cook was mentioned, but that's how crazy the Bills' numbers against Miami truly are. Cook's three first-half touchdowns tie the most ever in a first-half by a member of the Bills. During his 49-yard touchdown scamper, Cook hit 20.99 MPH, per NextGenStats. The almost 21 MPH run is the sixth-fastest ball carrier speed of the season.

Mitigating Speed

Tyreek Hill
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The Bills held Tyreek Hill (three for 24) and Jaylen Waddle (four for 41) to a total of seven receptions for 65 yards. This is just the second time that Hill has gone for 24 or fewer yards since 2022. The 65 combined yards are the least by the duo since Hill joined Miami in 2022. The Bills' secondary slander has been loud around NFL circles; it's only two games, but so far, Hill, Waddle, and Marvin Harrison Jr. have combined for eight catches and 69 yards against Buffalo. Miami's offense thrives off explosive plays; Buffalo allowed just one play over 20 yards to the Dolphins, a 21-yard reception by Waddle.

Related: Bills DE Von Miller ascends NFL record book with sack vs. Dolphins

Protection

Josh Allen
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Josh Allen's stats aren't going to pop off the page; he went 13/19 for 139 yards and a touchdown while adding two carries for two yards. If Buffalo needed it, Allen could have utilized his arm far more thanks to his offensive line. The Dolphins' pass rushers never really threatened the Bills' signal-caller. The NFL average for separation from a pass rusher to the quarterback is 4.56 yards. Miami's Calais Campbell, who averaged 5.01 yards of separation from Allen, led the Dolphins in that stat on Thursday. For my fellow 1990s kids, Allen was kept SO FRESH and SO CLEAN.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.

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