Saturday, December 22, 2012

Week 16 AFC East game picks: Bills at Dolphins

Lead writer Nick St. Denis and AFC East Daily contributors Dan Begnoche and Sean Donovan pick the Buffalo Bills' AFC East battle at the Miami Dolphins.

Nick's take:
Bills players are desperate to save Chan Gailey's job, and C.J. Spiller will be the best player on the field. That had me initially leaning toward Buffalo. Then I remembered that Gailey's misuse of Spiller is part of the reason his seat is hot in the first place. Plus, Leodis McKelvin isn't around to bail out Buffalo with a punt return touchdown.
Prediction: Dolphins 23, Bills 20 (Nick's record: 34-12)

Sean's take:
The low point of Ryan Tannehill's rookie season may have been the first matchup between these teams, as Buffalo's defense stymied nearly everything Miami tried to do. This game will be a test on how the young passer can adjust to an opponent he's seen before, and he passes that test.
Prediction: Dolphins 24, Bills 13 (Sean's record: 36-10)

Dan's take:
Despite a poor offensive performance in their first meeting, Miami's defense kept the team in the game into the fourth quarter. Tannehill is coming off his best game of the season, where he completed 79 percent of his passes, but keep an eye on the rushing attack, which has been revived of late. Buffalo's rush defense could easily allow 200+ yards on the ground for the second straight week.
Prediction: Dolphins 24, Bills 17