Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has called on the Miami Dolphins to “start the way we want to” in their early-season NFL Thursday Night Football grudge match against the Buffalo Bills (8.15pm ET).
Buffalo beat Miami in Week 18 last season, winning the AFC East title at the expense of the team who had set the pace for much of the campaign.
“The guys are ready to play this game and there have been a lot of guys who have been here for their off days,” said Tagovailoa.
“Not just getting work in but talking to each other, communicating things that we could get better with. And then going into this week, talking personnel, talking ‘Hey, this guy does this really well, maybe this, that or whatever.’
“There have just been a lot of guys up here in the building since we’ve played. So I think that’s a good thing for us.”
A South Beach showdown.
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— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 12, 2024
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Miami Dolphins vs Bills
Tagovailoa’s poor record against the Bills has come into focus following Miami’s opening 20-17 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 26-year-old’s only win in his seven editions of the fixture as a starter came in 2022, with their most recent loss his third in a row.
“We have a good enough team to be able to just start fast, start the way we want to,” Tagovailoa replied when he was asked what lessons Miami had learned from an opening contest in which they lost the first two quarters.
“It doesn’t have to get to that point for any of us and we’ve got to hold each other to the standard that we said we wanted to – that’s all that was.”
Squish. The. Fish.@CaesarsSports | #BUFvsMIA pic.twitter.com/yMR2Lc3ukc
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 12, 2024
Thursday Night Football ‘not easy’
Miami are slight favourites to make it two wins from two by beating opponents who started with a 34-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
“These guys will be jacked up to play and show who we are in front of a nationally televised audience,” said defensive co-ordinator Anthony Weaver.
“Knowing what this game means to the organisation, there are some things that really didn’t need to be said. As soon as the schedule came out and you saw this game, particularly a Thursday night game, Game 2, it is one you kind of circle.
“It’s a short week – Thursday games aren’t easy for anybody but this one’s going to be a little bit easier for our guys because of who our opponent is. It won’t require a lot of motivation from me.”
