Tua Tagovailoa Miami Dolphins (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Miami Dolphins are looking to defeat the Buffalo Bills and take a two-game lead in the AFC East.
It is rare that a week 2 matchup has such high stakes, but the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are both desperate for a win on Sunday. Control over the AFC East is at stake and Miami is not going jeopardize their No. 1 spot without a fight. With the Dolphins beating the Patriots last week, it is the Buffalo Bills that find themselves looking up at Miami from third place in the division–and they’ve got a lot to lose.
The Bills suffered a disappointing 23-16 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. They looked messy and struggled to get anything going with their offense–three of their four scores were field goals. They’ll have to find the end zone more efficiently against Miami if they don’t want to see their AFC East title hopes quickly slip away.
A one-point win over New England Patriots has given the Miami Dolphins some momentum to carry into their home opener. If they can find some consistency and expose Buffalo’s shining weaknesses, they will wake up on Monday with a 2-0 record under their belt and a hold on the AFC East.
Here are 5 reasons why the Miami Dolphins will win against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2
5. Tua Tagovailoa is gritty
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is not an elite quarterback. The good thing is, he doesn’t need to be. Tagovailoa passed for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception against New England in his first start of 2021. Those stats aren’t fantastic, but the numbers were not the most impressive part of his performance.
The young Miami quarterback played with grit. Tagovailoa showed immense poise in his smooth connections with rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle as their confidence built throughout the game. He was consistent enough throughout the win to keep his team in it even when things weren’t going their way, and that mentality was essential for Miami.
In what is likely to be another close game, Tagovailoa will need all the mental toughness he can get to keep his team motivated. As long as he sticks to his strengths in leading his team and doesn’t make any catastrophic mistakes, his grit will give the Dolphins a much needed edge over the Bills on Sunday.