Madden simulation week 2: Miami Dolphins get their first win
By Nick Belotto
Week 2 pits the Miami Dolphins against their rivals from New York, the Buffalo Bills. Will they get their first win of the season in Madden this week?
The Miami Dolphins opened their Madden and real season with a loss against the Patriots. The Dolphins will be taking on the Bills at home this week and the hope is that they can respond defensively after Cam Newton ran all over them in New England. Let’s get straight to the game and see how it plays out!
1st Quarter
Miami gets the ball to kick off the game. After a few penalties on the defense, Fitz hits Gesicki for a 22 yard gain which puts the team at midfield. After a few smaller chunk plays to Preston Williams and DeVante Park, Jordan Howard ends up taking it into the end zone. After Jason Sanders’ extra point, Miami takes a 7-0 lead.
Buffalo takes the ensuing kickoff and Miami’s defense seems to be much improved from a week ago! Buffalo picks up a quick first down but then is forced to punt after a poor run by Singletary and a sack on Josh Allen by Kyle Van Noy.
Miami gets the ball back but doesn’t get anything going and ends up with a three and out. Josh Allen’s accuracy issues continue and Miami forces another three and out. On Miami’s 4th possession of the quarter, Fitzpatrick finds Jakeem Grant for a nice 15 yard gain before the Bills defense responds by forcing three straight incompletions. Buffalo gets the ball back and moves towards midfield to wrap up the quarter.
At the end of the first: Buffalo 0, Miami 7
2nd Quarter
Buffalo has the ball at midfield and Allen hits Stefon Diggs for a huge gain, bringing the team into the redzone. Out of nowhere, Allen throws a bad pass and Jerome Baker comes up with a huge interception to stall the Buffalo offense that looked like it was picking up some momentum.
Miami’s response? A quick three and out. Matt Haack, however, has a great punt that ends up pinning Buffalo inside their own 10-yard line. A huge sack by Christian Wilkins ends up being negated by another big pass play to Diggs. But, on 3rd and long, Wilkins responds again, dropping Allen for a huge sack and forcing Buffalo to punt.
On the next possession, Matt Breida starts to make his name heard in the game, picking up 22 yards on a huge pass play. but the Buffalo defense holds tough and forces a punt after Fitzpatrick struggles to complete passes. Luckily for the Dolphins offense, the defense came to play today and forced Buffalo into another 3 and out.
After the ensuing punt, Brieda shines again with a huge pickup of 21 yards, but similarly to last time, the offense stalls and punts with just over a minute left in the half. Buffalo marches with down the field after big plays to Diggs and Cole Beasley which set them up nicely for a field goal to end the half.
At the end of the second: Buffalo 3, Miami 7
3rd Quarter
Buffalo ball out of the gate. Josh Allen hits Cole Beasley for 15 yards, but then the defense forces a punt to stall any rhythm from developing in this Bills offense.
Miami ends up pinned inside their 5, but it looks like Fitzpatrick’s fear of getting pulled starts to push him to play better. He immediately hits Mike Gesicki and DeVante parker for 15 and 19-yard gains. After a couple of running plays picking up positive yardage, Durham Smythe collects a huge pass for 15 followed by Fitzpatrick’s first touchdown pass of the day to Preston Williams to increase the Miami lead.
Buffalo has the ball and is starting to run the ball a little better. But, on a third and long, Van Noy comes up with another sack! The defense came to play today!
Miami takes the ball and struggles to get anything going. A bad punt by Haack puts Buffalo at their own 35. Zack Moss and Devin Singletary, who haven’t done much this game, combine for some back to back to back 5-yard plays which allows the Bills to move into Miami territory just in time of the quarter to wrap up
At the end of the third: Buffalo 3, Miami 14
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4th Quarter
The fourth begins with Buffalo marching down the field, looking to put some points on the board. Allen hits Dawson Knox for a big play and, after a Singletary 10 yard completion, hits Knox again for the touchdown. They go for 2 and cannot convert.
Miami takes the ball and starts to move down the field, killing valuable time for a Buffalo comeback. Miami gets into Buffalo territory but is forced to punt at the 47 yard line. Buffalo takes the punt, desperate to move the ball down the field and keep the game close. Singletary picks up a huge 15 yard play followed by a great response by Davon Godchaux, who sacks Allen for a 9 yard loss. After two incompletions, Buffalo punts yet again.
Miami, looking to put the game away, goes three and out, but a great punt by Haack traps Buffalo on their own 3 yard line. Over the next two plays, Miami’s defense drops Singletary twice behind the line of scrimmage and comes away with a safety. Miami takes the ball after the free kick and doesn’t do a whole lot with it.
Buffalo gets the ball back with 2:40 on the clock. Allen hits Knox for two huge completions, one for 15 then another for 18. But Miami seems to wake up and forces three straight incompletions forcing the Bills to turn the ball over on downs. Miami lines up in the victory formation after Jordan Howard picks up a crucial first down on the ground.
Final: Buffalo 9, Miami 16
This ends up being a huge win for the Dolphins in Madden against a divisional opponent. Both Fitzpatrick and Allen had big games, but the difference was on defense, where Miami made it hard for the Bills to get anything going, outside of their one touchdown.
I don’t see Buffalo putting up these types of points, but I do foresee a significantly improved Dolphins defense this week which will make Buffalo have to work for their points. I also see Miami taking advantage of some of the injuries on this Buffalo defense which will ultimately get them to their first victory of the young season.
My Prediction: Buffalo 20, Miami 27