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Sports

NFL Heated Rivalries: Buffalo Bills VS Miami Dolphins

Everything you need to know about this 56 year old rivalry 

The rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins is one of the most intense and passionate rivalries in the NFL. 

These two teams have been playing against each other since 1967 and their rivalry only got more intense when they were both placed into the AFC East together. 

Today, we are going to talk about the teams, the rivalry, and the match history between the two teams. Starting by looking at who the Buffalo Bills are. 

Buffalo Bills

The Bills are a team based in the city of Buffalo – they play in the Highmark Stadium

Orchard Park, New York. The team played its first season in 1960 and they were originally part of the AFL. 

Since joining the NFL the Bills have not won a Super Bowl, this year they did make it to the playoffs before being knocked out by the Kansas City Chiefs. You can find the NFL betting odds on the Bills winning the Super Bowl next year here. 

After having very little success in their division and only making it to the playoffs through the wild card round – in 2020 the Bills won their AFC East for the first time since 1995. They also won it again this year. 

Aside from the other teams in the AFC East, the Bills have rivalries with the Chiefs, the Jaguars, and the Titans. But nothing anywhere near as competitive as what they have with the Dolphins. 

Miami Dolphins 

The Dolphins are the younger team of the two – they played their first season in 1967. They were one of the three teams created to fill out the divisions after the AFL and the NFL merged. The team is based in Miami and plays in the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida. 

The Dolphins also play in the AFC East and have won 2 Super Bowls since they were formed. They won back to back Super Bowls in 1972 (Super Bowl 7) and 1973 (Super Bowl 8). 

The Dolphins have won the AFC East 13 times, but only twice in the last 26 years (2008 and 2000). The last time they made it to the playoffs was in 2016, 2008 before that, and the time before that was in 2001. 

Outside of their rivalry with the Bills they also have a rivalry with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The Rivalry – A History

As far as match results go between these two teams, the Dolphins lead 60-51. However, the Bills have the edge when it comes to the playoffs – 3-1. 

Both teams began life in the now-defunct AFL (American Football League), and this is where they first started playing against each other. Things were pretty even between the teams back then. 

However, when the NFL absorbed the AFL, Miami started to dominate the matches between the two teams. Between 1970-79, the Dolphins beat the Bills 20 times in a row. During this time the Dolphins won 2 Super Bowl titles. 

At the start of the 1980s, Dan Marino joined the Dolphins and Jim Kelly joined the Bills and this changed the Bills’ fortunes. Gone were the days when the Dolphins dictated the matches. While the wins were spread pretty evenly between the two teams, every single game was close. And the Bills came out on top, most of the time. 

The rivalry between Marino and Kelly helped to build the rivalry between the two teams in the 1990s. This decade ended with the Bills having the edge with a 12-8 win-loss record. However, both the teams performed incredibly well week in week out. During this decade they were two of the best teams in the AFC. 

The 2000s were the decade of the Dolphins, with the team ending the decade with a 16-3 win-loss record. However, both teams had a very poor decade. Things flipped again with the Bills winning the 2010s overall – 12-8. It is worth noting that one of the other members of the AFC East is the Patriots who were dominant in the division for nearly 20 years. 

After Tom Brady left the division for Tampa Bay, things have opened up again. There is a renewed fire between the two teams and the division has opened up again. The Bills have won the AFC East for the last two years in a row – but they have had some really close matches with the Dolphins… And some that were not so close! 

This year the Bills came first in the division and the Dolphins came third. 

Most Recent Season 

The two teams played each other twice in the 2021-22 season. 

The first match took place in Week 2 of the season. The Bills won the match 35-0. This is the biggest margin of victory either team has had in the history of their rivalry. 

The second match of the season took place on 31st October. The Bills won this match too, 26-11. This was the 7th time in a row that the Bills beat the Dolphins.

The series record overall is 60-1-52 to the Dolphins. 

 

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