Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills got all they could handle on a short turnaround for a Thursday night game with the Miami Dolphins. Miami was (and is still) desperate for a win, and they played Buffalo tough until the final minutes, at least until good fortune found the home team. That’s when a late interception by linebacker Terrel Bernard sealed the deal, erasing a late surge by the Dolphins who were driving down the field in hopes of tying points.
One rookie in particular played a massive role on Thursday, his work clutch in allowing Bernard to seal the win. In retrospect, several rookies had their hand in a tightly contested win over a hungry Miami team. Let’s review…
The Bills’ first-round selection has one more game to sit as part of his Injured Reserve designation, which means we have almost no idea how Hairston will do when he does finally return. In his place, Tre’Davious White had a very up and down game on Thursday in a tough matchup against the Dolphins’ speed at receiver.
Hairston, the fastest player at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, may have been an asset against that kind of speed. We saw more of White’s blemishes in Week 3, which should keep the light on for Hairston to be a major contributor in 2025.
There may be some cause for concern regarding Sanders’ performance against the Dolphins. Miami’s offensive line has been very beat up in recent weeks, yet the Bills’ defensive line as a unit struggled to generate negative plays in this game. Despite his efforts, Sanders felt like a complete non-factor throughout in playing 36 of 61 snaps. The truth is that he’s yet to make much of an impact in the regular season.
A short turnaround is new to Sanders, so let’s give him some grace (as well every other rookie). Still, Sanders was washed out of the play several times in Miami’s run game, and his pass rush presence was ineffective at best. Overall, Sanders was one of the worst performers on defense last Thursday.
Jackson was once again a healthy scratch for the Bills, having yet to to play through three weeks of action. Buffalo isn’t getting much from players like Javon Solomon right now, so Jackson might be worth a look at some point in the near future. At this point, the team may need to see what the third-round pick can do with opportunity before Michael Hoecht returns from suspension in a few weeks.
In being honest here, it wasn’t a perfect performance from Walker, but he certainly made his presence felt more often as the game went on. Walker was moved off his spot in run support early in action, but he showed mental fortitude to take the challenge and flash big time when the moment mattered.
As mentioned to open, Walker came up with one of the key plays in...
