5 Storylines to Watch in Week 9 of the NFL

The Buffalo Bills have won back-to-back 20-plus points and their lead in the AFC East has grown to 3.5 games through eight weeks. Now they’ve set their sights on the division rival Miami Dolphins, who come to town this Sunday at 1 p.m. Here are five storylines to watch when Buffalo hosts the Dolphins this weekend.

It’s hard to imagine the second-place team in the division having a record as bad as 2-5, but that’s where the Miami Dolphins enter Week 9. Two wins are two fewer than any other second-place team. A win on Sunday, no matter what the Jets or Patriots do, would put Buffalo four games ahead in the division with a pair of head-to-head wins over Miami and a head-to-head win over the New York Jets. You can’t win the division by Week 9, but the Dolphins, Jets and Patriots are trying very hard to lose it.

Connected: Bills cut tight end Tyler Bass from practice squad, add familiar WR

You don’t have to be a Bills fan or a Dolphins fan to understand what this game means for Tua Tagovailoa. It’s true he’s playing for a contender, but don’t forget that the concussion that caused him to miss most of this season occurred against Buffalo, as did the 2022 hit that first put his well-being in question, now constant. How he stacks up physically and mentally compared to the Bills is something to keep an eye on.

The Bills are 2-0 with Amari Cooper in the lineup and have won those games by a combined 45 points. Even so, some people want to see more from the Bills’ latest trade acquisitions. While it’s a little weird to be upset when your favorite team gets destroyed, it’s fair to hope for more than one catch for three yards on two targets from the team’s new toy. His shares rose from 35% to 50% from the first game to the second. Let’s follow that trajectory this week.

The Bills have won three games in a row; It may not sound like much, but this is the second-longest ongoing streak in the AFC. Although the Bills started 3-2, an 8-2 run looked possible given their immediate schedule. They managed to score 60% of these victories; now only Miami and the Indianapolis Colts stand in the way.

Connected: Assessing the Bills’ rookie class midway through the 2024 NFL season.

The 2024 NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 5th at 4:00 p.m. The Bills already made a big splash by trading for the aforementioned Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns. The move is part of an arms race that has also seen Kansas City acquire WR DeAndre Hopkins and the Baltimore Ravens acquire WR Diontae Johnson. If Brandon Beane wants to continue the arms race, there are plenty of reports saying more wide receivers and defensive linemen are available. I’d doubt he’d go after another pass catcher, especially with how good Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Dalton Kinkaid have looked lately, but Cleveland’s return and the addition of a guy like Za’Darius Smith in the passing game is… rusher would be welcomed by the Bills Mafia.

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