Dolphins hope to start crucial stretch with win against the Bills

After the Patriots game, the Dolphins welcome in the Bengals on a short week for Thursday Night Football on Halloween.  The Bengals are 4-2 and already have wins over the Packers and Patriots.  They are a good team and this game will be a challenge for the Dolphins.  If the Dolphins were to lose to the Bills and Patriots, they’d be 3-4 (having lost 4 straight) and would need this game to get back to .500.  Again, not a position you want to be in.

Now, if the Dolphins were to pull out a win against the Bills and improve to 4-2, the worst they could be at the end of this 12 day stretch would be 4-4.  Obviously, that’s not ideal, but they would also have some confidence heading into New England.

The Patriots are winning games, but they have shown the are vulnerable.  Their strength of schedule so far is .441, meaning their opponents have won 44% of the game they’ve played….and that includes the 5-1 Saints, so the rest of the Patriots schedule has been relatively easy.  By contrast, the Dolphins strength of schedule thus far is .552, meaning the Dolphins opponents have won 55% of the games they’ve played.

How about victories?  The Patriots strength of victory is .393 or 39%.  Meanwhile, the Dolphins strength of victory is .471 or 47%.  So the Dolphins have played a tougher schedule and beaten better opponents.  If they can beat the 2-4 Bills on Sunday, they’ll set up a first place showdown with the Patriots.  The Patriots play at the Jets this weekend, so it’s likely they’ll improve to 6-1.  If the Dolphins win they’ll be 4-2 and would be 1.5 games out of first.  If they could find a way to win against the Patriots, it would set them up nicely for a run at the East and even more so, for a chance at a Wild Card birth.

But, it all begins on Sunday….against the Bills……and either Thad Lewis or Matt Flynn.  I like our chances.  I will be at the game on Sunday and I hope you are too.  If you need tickets to the game, check out what’s available on VividSeats, by clicking here.  I’ll be at the pregame VIP tailgate party with Miami Jules, Daniel from PhinsPhocus, Igor and Michelle from DolfansNYC, Brian from PhinPhanatic, and many others.  If you’re around, let us know in the comment section and we’ll meet up!

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