Bills ‘Thankful’ For Opportunity vs. Dolphins in Week 18

Few have a better pulse on the Buffalo Bills locker room than their center and captain, Mitch Morse. He spoke before Week 18 about the team's mindset during the home stretch

As the middle of the regular season fades into this distance and the playoffs come into focus, inconsistencies of months past no longer have to matter. The Buffalo Bills are alive and have a chance to win the division on Sunday.

After forgetting how to lose during the Week 12 bye week, Buffalo has played itself into healthy playoff positioning. They haven’t clinched a spot just yet, though it’s a possibility before kickoff on Sunday Night Football. The regular-season finale will have the stakes and intensity of a playoff game and the sole focus of the football world.

For a week, all that matters is visiting the Miami Dolphins and escaping with a win. The Bills’ 5-1 stretch – despite the injuries, the coaching chaos, and the three playoff teams that stood in their path – has been remarkable. But center Mitch Morse isn’t happy to reflect on the hot streak just yet.

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On Wednesday, he spoke about the persistence his team has shown and their headspace heading into Week 18.

“The thing that I think is kind of the root of that resiliency is just taking it one day at a time, focusing on each moment that is required out of that day,” Morse said. “And then – like I’ve said a thousand times before – those moments compound. Then you have the opportunity to celebrate those moments on Sunday.”

The biggest game of Buffalo’s season will come away from home, for the right to return to it. Winning on Sunday means a home game in the Wild Card Round and the right to play the AFC’s seventh seed. Hosting one of the AFC South runner-ups of a less-than-potent Pittsburgh Steelers squad is far preferable to visiting Miami again or a first-round duel with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Buffalo, however, will leave the playoff simulators to the fans eagerly awaiting Sunday’s action.

“So just a team that’s really not worried about the what ifs, if we lost this game or whatnot,” Morse said. “So just kind of going out and competing to the best of our ability and letting the chips fall where they may, knowing that we’ve done all we could.”

The NFL could not have asked for a better game to cap off its regular season. The Bills are 2.5-point favorites against the most dynamic offense in football. However, the Dolphins' growing list of injuries – most notably edge rusher Bradley Chubb tearing his ACL – dampens their Super Bowl aspirations.

Miami has beaten just a single playoff team this season, and coming off of a 56-19 drubbing at the hands of the conference-best Baltimore Ravens, there is a lot left to prove.

“This game, this atmosphere is going to be electric. The Dolphins have played amazing football this year and they’ve deserved their right … to have this opportunity to clinch the East,” Morse concluded. “We’re just thankful to also still be in the hunt knowing that we’ve let some opportunities dwindle in the past.

“But we’re not worried about that, we’re just kind of worrying about what this moment entails.”

Bills vs. Dolphins Preview: AFC East Championship, Playoffs on Line

Kickoff for the Week 18 finale, and the biggest game of these two teams’ seasons, is at 8:20 (EST) on NBC.