Can Tyreek Hill Finally Break Through Against the Bills Defense?
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
It was January 24, 2021. The only thing standing between the Kansas City Chiefs and a Super Bowl was the Buffalo Bills. Patrick Mahomes leaned on Tyreek Hill to get them over in the AFC Championship, and he was more than ready for the task.
Hill ran all over the Bills secondary that day, hauling in nine catches on 11 targets to rack up 172 receiving yards. It’s one of the 30 playoff games in NFL history where a receiving had 170-plus yards, and just one of nine to occur in a Conference Championship or Super Bowl game. Hill didn’t score, but he was instrumental in helping the Chiefs coast to a 38-24 win.
The next season, Hill and the Chiefs matched up against the Bills in the Divisional Round. Hill went off once again, amassing 11 catches for 150 yards, including a go-ahead 64-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, then a 19-yard pass with 13 seconds left to help set up a field goal to take the Chiefs into overtime. Kansas City won 42-36 to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
If you’re keeping score, that makes Hill one of six receivers in NFL history to have multiple 150-yard postseason games. Both have come against the Bills, making him the only player to accomplish the feat against the same team multiple times. With how badly he’s owned the Bills in the playoffs, you’d think that’d be bad news when Hill moved to Buffalo’s division with the Miami Dolphins.
Since then, it wouldn’t appear that Hill has the Bills’ number. In fact, quite the opposite.
“TyFreak” has been everything the Dolphins could have hoped for and more in these past two seasons. He has back-to-back 1700-yard seasons, the first player in NFL history to hit that figure twice. Only Davante Adams has more than Hill’s 19 receiving touchdowns over that time. But precious few of those gaudy stats have come against the Bills.
In three regular-season match-ups with Buffalo, Hill has 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown. That’s not terrible for a mortal wide receiver, but that only accounts for 6.1% of his catches, 4.8% of his receiving yards, and 5.3% of his touchdowns over those two years. For some more perspective, Hill has 9 games where he matched or exceeded his three-game output against the Bills as a Dolphin.
Heck, let’s throw in last year’s playoff game, where the Dolphins faced… the Bills again. Hill had seven catches for 69 yards, bringing his total to 219 yards in four games, or four fewer yards than Hill had in Miami’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers this year.
The Dolphins are 1-3 against the Bills in the Tyreek Hill Era, and the team standing between them and an AFC East crown is Buffalo once again. Can Hill pick up the team when they need him the most?
The problem isn’t that Hill’s in the dark of what the Bills defense is doing to him. After Buffalo defeated the Dolphins 48-20 on October 1, Hill told the media the Bills’ corners “had no fear in their eyes because they knew they had help over the top” in their Cover 2 defense. Buffalo stopped Hill’s cartoonish speed coming off the line of scrimmage, and star safety Micah Hyde had himself a day with a pass deflection and an interception.
According to @PFF Micah Hyde has been a top 5 safety through the first 3 weeks of the season!#BillsMafia | #BuiltinBuffalo pic.twitter.com/y6XiSaq1wu
— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) September 26, 2023
The Bills secondary are more than a one-trick pony, as they’ve shut down much more than Hill and company. Buffalo is one of seven teams in the NFL that surrender 200 or fewer passing yards per game. Their 17 passing touchdowns allowed are tied for the fewest in the NFL. Their 16 interceptions are tied for fifth. They’ll be a formidable foe for Hill.
It’s also true that Hill has more than just Buffalo’s safeties stacked against him. Running mate Jaylen Waddle missed last week with injury, and Hill mustered just 76 receiving yards in a 56-19 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens. On top of that, his house caught fire on Wednesday, and while his family is safe, it’s a devastating thing to happen in anyone’s personal life.
No one can blame someone for not being their best through adversity, but this sort of gigantic moment is when Hill needs to come through the most against the Dolphins. A wide receiver generating MVP buzz is almost unheard of, but Hill’s been that kind of difference-maker for Miami. It’ll be an incredibly tough order to summon a gigantic game against a tough Bills secondary, but Hill will need to deliver it in order to secure the AFC East title for his team.
Up Next