Week 17 test in Buffalo will provide valuable experience for Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins boast one of the greatest natural homefield advantages in all of football. For the early portions of the season, the Dolphins’ humid home climate can serve as a culture shock to teams from across the country to fly in and play the Dolphins in Miami. The Dolphins went as far as to engineer the canopy at Hard Rock Stadium so that the last part of the field to leave the sunlight is the opposing team sideline. No matter how many fans are in the stands, that advantage is real.

But when you get to this time of year, the warm weather Dolphins suddenly find themselves at a disadvantage — especially for late season games in the AFC East. Last year the Dolphins found a way to go north and upset the New England Patriots in Week 17. They’ll need another upset over the division champion this season to ensure their ticket to the postseason is punched.

But the matchup against the Bills this weekend will be a lot more than just a “must win” game — it is going to serve as the same kind of culture shock that Miami has given so many other teams who travel south. Because Orchard Park is calling for a high of 37 degrees and a 70% chance of wintry precipitation on Sunday during the game. The Dolphins will be playing in the snow.

And the calendar is always going to threaten deep playoff runs with some wintry conditions — so this trip to Buffalo isn’t just good “crunch time” experience, it is a good primer for what the Dolphins should expect conditions to be like in years to come as they look to return to their past glory and play in Super Bowls. That is, of course, unless Miami plans on locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC year in and year out.

So keep an eye on this storyline, Dolphins fans. How does Tua Tagovailoa play in the snow? How physical do the Dolphins remain up front when the cold weather makes every hit on the field sting. If Miami is up to the challenge on that front, that will be half the battle for this weekend’s must have clash.