In 2022, the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills in one of the hottest recorded games in NFL history. The wilting images of Josh Allen became a poster for what it's like to play in a different kind of adverse weather.
The NFL is all about "cold weather" games, but playing in gripping heat is just as difficult. The Bills found that out the hard way. Since then, the NFL has basically kissed the rest of the league and given them a pass on playing in Miami.
This year, the NFL is making sure that the Bills won't be subjected to the harsh Miami sun once again, and it isn't lost on the people who cover the team either.
The NFL continues to give back to the Buffalo Bills after the sweltering 2022 game against the Miami Dolphins
The Bills didn't play Miami early in 2023. When they returned in early 2024, the NFL put the game under the lights instead of the sunshine. The NFL doesn't seem to care much about snow and ice, but add some southern heat, and watch out.
The ongoing joke is that the Bills petitioned OSHA over working conditions in South Florida. Sure, it's a joke, but that 2022 game still owns space in the minds of the Bills Mafia, and it's glorious. Brandon Ray of BuffaLowDown said it best.
"In Week 11, the Bills will be hosting the Miami Dolphins as the weather starts to get cold in Orchard Park. The Dolphins will be out of the sunshine and will have to play in potentially cold weather, and it wouldn't be surprising if there was snow on the ground already in Buffalo."
Maybe Mother Nature will provide an answer. How perfectly fitting would it be to see a massive blizzard shut down the city and move the game to Detroit or Toronto? Only Buffalo would build a new stadium without a roof after years of watching games relocate due to weather.
It's funny that the Bills and apparently their fans have no problems with playing in cold weather, but lord forbid they have to play in the heat.
Since 2022, the NFL has given Miami one game early in the season at 1:00 p.m. each year. In 2023, the Dolphins played the Broncos and won 70-20. The other two games in September were on the road.
In 2024, the Dolphins opened against fellow hot-weather Floridians, the Jacksonville Jaguars. They hosted the Bills in Week 2, but played that game at night. In Week 4, a Monday night game against the Titans. The trend continued in 2025 as well, with only the Patriots forced to play an early 1:00 game in South Florida.
It's been three seasons since that 2022 heat wave destroyed the Bills, and still, their fans can't get it out of their heads. The Dolphins are not expected to be very good this year, so let them revel in their mid-season chilly weather game. It will come back around...someday. Actually, this would have been the perfect year for the Bills to play in Miami at 1:00, given the Dolphins' roster turnover. Oh well.
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