Your guide to Sunday's Bills-Dolphins game

There is an irony to be found in the reason why Tommy Sweeney had football taken away from him last year.

The Buffalo Bills’ third-year tight end was unable to play in the 2020 season on doctor’s orders, as he became the first, and to date, only known NFL player to develop myocarditis following a Covid-19 infection. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can reduce the organ’s ability to pump and cause rapid or abnormal beating. Left untreated, it can cause permanent heart damage or even cardiac arrest.

When the Bills throw: Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders have combined for 61 catches, without a drop between them. That’s a big reason why quarterback Josh Allen has gotten away with ranking just 25th in Sports Info Solution’s tracking of “catchable throws,” a statistic that is found by dividing the number of throws deemed catchable by a quarterback’s total pass attempts. Allen is at 83.1% in that metric. With tight end Dawson Knox out because of a hand injury, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bills run more four-receiver sets, meaning Gabriel Davis could be a sleeper daily fantasy play. Miami is allowing 297.1 passing yards per game, which ranks 30th in the NFL. EDGE: Bills.

When the Bills run: Pop quiz: Without looking it up, where do the Bills rank in rushing yards? You’d probably be surprised to learn it’s sixth overall. Allen’s 214 yards on the ground certainly helps, but Devin Singletary ranks tied for sixth among running backs with an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Singletary burned the Dolphins for a 46-yard touchdown run in the Bills’ Week 2 win. EDGE: Bills.

Welcome to a Halloween edition of the Bills Mailbag. Let’s reach into our bag of treats to see what you all came up with this week …

Paul Basinski asks: What's up with all these field goals in the red zone? Very different from a season ago. Sure, the Bills are still putting up plenty of points, but something feels less explosive about the offense this year inside the 20. Is this a reason for concern, and what's the probable cause?

Ike Boettger took a different path to leave practice Friday. Instead of the gradual sloped ramp out of Highmark Stadium, the left guard took the higher-effort route up the stadium stairs.

“We had to mix it up after the loss. Gotta change the juju,” he said.

Safety Jordan Poyer was sitting on the beach, but still thinking about football. Quarterback Josh Allen said he’d prefer to play every week. After the loss in Tennessee, the Buffalo Bills were ready to get right back to work. The only thing stopping them was their bye week.

If the bitter loss lingered, history says there’s something more palatable up next. Sean McDermott is 4-0 coming out the bye as head coach of the Bills.

Cody White doesn’t usually get to watch a ton of NFL football. The athletic director and football coach at Brentwood Academy in Tennessee, his Sundays usually are reserved for planning for his own team. He tries to catch college games on Saturdays: There are more than 30 Brentwood alumni playing at the next level.

But last week, a Monday night game gave him a rare opportunity to watch Brentwood alum Dawson Knox. He even got to see Knox, now a tight end for the Buffalo Bills, complete a pass on a trick play two-point conversion, with quarterback Josh Allen as his receiver. And after coaching Knox, watching him develop and grow, White was a little aghast. 

The Buffalo Bills are tied for the NFL lead in takeaways with 16 through seven weeks of the season.

Is it sustainable?

Josh Allen stands 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds.

You have to believe he seems like 10 feet tall to Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

The Miami Dolphins’ once-great third-down defense has collapsed this season, and that looks like bad news heading into Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Miami had the No. 1-ranked third-down defense in the NFL last season, holding foes to just a 31% conversion rate. Through seven games this season, both the coverage and the pass rush are struggling for Miami. It is 31st on third downs, allowing 51.5% conversions.

Here is how News Bills writers see Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium. The Bills are favored by 13.5 points. 

Jay Skurski