Dolphins' Week 4 matchup with the Bills just got a bit easier

The Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills had some thrilling contests last season. Miami won the first matchup at home 21-19, but the Bills won 32-29 late in the season and again 34-31 in the wild card round of the playoffs. There hasn't been much between the two teams. And when the teams meet again on […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Aug 29, 2023 2:25 PM EDT

There hasn't been much between the two teams. And when the teams meet again on October 1, 2023, a key contributor from the Bills will not be on the field.

The Bills placed OLB Von Miller on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list, which means that Miller will be out for the first four games of the season, at minimum. The fourth of those games is against Miami. Miller tore his ACL against the Lions on Thanksgiving last year and is still working to recover from that.

The #Bills are planning to have star pass-rusher Von Miller begin the season on the reserve/PUP list as he recovers from a torn ACL, source said. He’s out the first four games. pic.twitter.com/sqc6YOEDSE
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2023

Miller, an All-Pro on Denver's 2015 Super Bowl championship team, signed a 6-year $120 million contract with the Bills in March 2022. Until his injury, he had been living up to his reputation as one of the most fearsome edge rushers in the game, with 8 sacks and a 14.5% pressure rate through 11 games.

Against the Dolphins in Week 3, while not notching a sack, Miller still registered three pressures and earned a PFF grade of 88.1 for the game, as Miami's offense struggled mightily (212 total yards from scrimmage) despite finding a way to win.

However, now the Dolphins will not have to face off against one of the best in the league in a crucial game early in the season. That's no small thing for a Miami offensive line that still has plenty of questions to answer early in the season.