Miami Dolphins lose four key starters for today's Bills game including their center

With the Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills game now down to an hour and a half, the Dolphins' inactive list could be a big problem on both sides of the ball. The news simply isn't good.

We knew that Jaelan Phillips would miss today's game but we didn't know that Eli Apple, DeShon Elliot, Tyler Kroft, and Connor Williams would be joining them.

Kroft and Phillips were expected asn Skylar Thompson is the emergency QB but the loss of Apple, Elliot, and especially Williams could be a big problem.

At center, Ed Oliver will now face off against Liam Eichenberg who as we all know, isn't very good at blocking and now we have to worry about errant snaps that could very well tip the scale of the game into the Bills favor.

Eichenberg was okay last week against the Broncos but the Broncos were already down too much to recover from and he wasn't asked to do a whole lot outside of just getting the ball in Tua's hands. This week, he will face one of the best defensive linemen in football and that is going to be an issue that could lead to bad snaps.

Of all the players not playing this week, not having Williams is the worst.

That being said, DeShon Elliot has looked really good this year with Jevon Holland and now, that task against the Bills will fall to Brandon Jones who played in his first game last week after missing considerable time last season and the entire off-season.

Jones' play is going to be critical in the secondary. He will need to play over the top and run support in a system he has not had much work in.

On the outside, Eli Apple hasn't been perfect but the Dolphins are thin at CB and now, Kader Kohou will likely line up outside but more likely, we see rookie Cam Smith for the first time. The question is will Miami man-up Howard on Gabe Davis and double Stefon Diggs or vice versa?

With Apple out, the Dolphins are thinner in the secondary, obviously also down Elliot.

This is not great news but the Dolphins have to find a way to persevere if they are going to be successful through the rest of the NFL season. Injuries happen and while these injuries are not considered serious, they are nagging and will take time to heal.

For the Bills, Safety Jordan Poyer will not play but Dhamar Hamlin will be active for the first time this year. CB Kaiir Elam will be out, and guard Germain Ifedi, Alec Anderson, and DT Poona Ford round out the Bills' list.

If the Bills lose today there are zero injury excuses.