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Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins seasons went in different directions this season; The Bills lead the AFC East 6-2 in eight games, while the Dolphins are 2-5. Miami needs a win, and beating its division rival would be even better. Here are five keys to stopping it and getting the Bills victory when they host the Dolphins on Sunday at 1 p.m.

As bad as Miami has been this season, they’ve found a way to play up-tempo. The Dolphins have scored at least 150 points in each of their last three games (150, 188, 193). If Buffalo has one Achilles heel this year, it’s stopping the run. Sean McDermott and his friends would be wise not to let these two realities collide with disaster.

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The Bills are in the top 10 in the league in first half scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. That’s the good thing. The downside is that Miami ranks 32nd in the league in the same statistic (that’s last) with 7.0 points per game. The ugly part is that Miami only scored 6.9 points in the second half. Punching the Dolphins in the face and ruining any idea they might pull off an upset early on would benefit the Bills greatly.

Buffalo is the league’s best at eight-for-eight on fourth-down conversions so far this year. Continuing this trend is an obvious advantage, but what is even more important is to keep Miami’s struggling trend intact. Heading into Week 9, Miami has a 15 to two lead in fourth down attempts. The Dolphins have yet to convert on one of their fourth-and-one attempts. They scored 10 times in the fourth and converted once. The other conversion occurred on a six-yard scramble.

If you hated all the flags in the Bills’ recent games, that might not end on Sunday. Miami ranks 30th in the league with 65 penalty yards per game. The Dolphins’ 7.3 penalties per game rank 25th. There may be another match where the field is full of yellow flags; you just have to hope that the most effective ones are on the road crew.

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While this has seemed to be a rare occurrence over the last few seasons, the Bills enter Sunday as a healthier team. We knew this last week as well, with Seattle missing DK Metcalf, and if you watched it, it was important. Linebacker Zach Sieler, cornerback Kader Kohou and tight end Julian Hill are all out for Miami this Sunday, while star safety Jevon Holland is questionable. Sieler and Holland in particular are integral pieces and their (expected) absence poses a problem in a match where there is already a talent disparity that is hurting the away team.

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