Josh Allen has thrown 21 touchdown passes in just seven home games against Miami – the most by any quarterback against a single opponent at home in NFL history. As the Bills gear up for another showdown with their division rivals, Mother Nature might add her wrinkle to this statistical masterpiece.

The Week 9 battle at Highmark Stadium won’t feature January’s bone-chilling temperatures or December’s snowballs. Instead, a 3% chance of rain showers looms over the 73,967-seat stadium, with temperatures steady around 52°F. Southeast winds will whisper at 3-5 mph across the A-Turf Titan surface, while cloud cover creeps up from 38% at kickoff to 40% by the final quarter.

Buffalo’s mastery over Miami includes winning 14 of their last 18 matchups since 2016 – the last time the Dolphins celebrated a victory in Orchard Park. Last season’s December duel showcased this rivalry’s weather-charged drama, as snowball-throwing fans briefly paused play with Buffalo leading 14-6. The Dolphins, showing their resilience, stormed back to grab a 29-21 lead before Tyler Bass’s 25-yard field goal sealed a 32-29 Bills victory.

“I feel like we just do a good job coming ready to play, especially with like, Bills Mafia,” nickel corner Taron Johnson explains as per ESPN. The numbers back him up. The Bills’ offense is averaging a scorching 38.3 points in three home games this season – a pace that would match the 2014 Packers’ home scoring record if maintained.

Left tackle Dion Dawkins reveals the team’s mindset behind these impressive performances: “We understand Josh’s goals, and none of us want to be the reason why he doesn’t get those goals. If our quarterback is having the best season of his life, we all smile in the shadows, like, yep, that’s because of us.”

Bills eye division stranglehold as Dolphins fight for survival

History whispers sweet nothings to Buffalo. They’re the 11th team since 2002 to lead their division by 3.5 games after Week 8. The previous ten? All claimed their division crowns. At 6-2, the Bills could theoretically clinch as early as Week 12 – a feat achieved by only three teams in NFL history, all of whom reached the Super Bowl.

“A head start definitely helps,” Allen acknowledges to ESPN, “but not getting complacent and not just sitting here saying things are taken care of because they’re not. There’s a lot of football left in the season. Anything can happen, and we got to keep our foot to the gas.”

Miami’s 2-5 record tells only part of the story. As Dolphins receiver Odell Beckham Jr. puts it: “One of the best feelings [with the Giants] was losing six games in a row to San Francisco over the three years and playing them in the NFC Championship and beating them and going to the Super Bowl and winning it… everybody around here is tired of it and everybody has got to come to work with that mentality that this is the most important game of our season.”

Bills right tackle Spencer Brown remembers last year’s script: “Whatever the record is, just can’t take ’em lightly, and it’s a division game at home, so gotta get a win.” With Von Miller back from suspension and linebacker Terrel Bernard likely returning from an ankle injury, Buffalo’s defense looks primed to extend their streak of seven straight home wins against Miami by an average of 17 points.