The 0-2 Miami Dolphins face the high-powered 2-0 Buffalo Bills and reigning MVP Josh Allen on short rest on Thursday night. While many would view the quick turnaround as a negative, coach Mike McDaniel sees it as a positive following back-to-back losses.
"Thursday night games, after a loss they can be a blessing because you have no time to think about anything else," he said on Tuesday. "And quite literally, I can paint a picture that I think the team is understanding, is that every moment that you spend thinking about anything but the opponent is going to serve you in the worst.
"So I think it's extremely important that the guys are solely focused as I am on the Bills and nothing else because that's all that does matter, and truth be told, that's the formula for Week 3 every year regardless of your record."
Not dwelling on past failures can have a positive effect, as it allows a team to focus on the task ahead rather than the mistakes in the rearview. Facing a juggernaut like the Bills, however, is a daunting task even on a normal week of rest.
Including playoffs, the Bills have won six straight games against the Dolphins, nine straight at home, and 15 of their 17 meetings under coach Sean McDermott (since 2017). The Bills have never had a 10-game home winning streak versus a single opponent. McDermott's .882 winning percentage (15-2 W-L) against the Dolphins, including playoffs, is the second-best by any head coach versus a single opponent in NFL history (minimum 15 games) -- Paul Brown vs. Cardinals (24-2-1; .923).
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McDaniel was asked about the history of Miami's futility against Buffalo, particularly on the road.
"I think it's a disservice to all the people on both teams every year when people put history on top of what it," he said. "It's two teams playing each other, and I think generally if you have success in one place against an opponent, over time you do have a confidence whether it's real or not real, it doesn't matter -- you do. And then, consequently, people can have a chip on their shoulder on the losing end of it.
"The bottom line is, is all of it is semantics. It's two football teams playing -- one on the road, one at home -- but the individuals are always different and the more you can recognize that and take each game unto itself and alone, by itself, you're shortchanging the process and you'll ultimately fall victim to it. I think over time you have to take each game, each opponent, each opportunity in the National Football League, solely focus on it and everything else makes you worse in focus, preparation and execution."
It's not just Miami that the Bills have blasted in Western New York. Buffalo is 14-1 at home in division games since 2020 (best such record in the NFL), generating 30.5 points per game (second-best), a +12.4 average point margin (best) and a +18 turnover margin (best) in that span.
The Dolphins are coming off back-to-back games in which they've allowed 33 points, the second time in club history they've allowed 30-plus points in each of their first two games of the season. The previous time, in 2019, they started 0-7 under Brian Flores.
Thursday night will be just the fifth Week 3 game in NFL history between one team that scored 30-plus points in each of its first two games (BUF) and another that allowed 30-plus in each (MIA). The 30-point scoring team has won each of the previous four matchups.