The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills could have headed into this Thursday's matchup looking to go 7-3 and positioning themselves for a strong push to win the AFC East.
Instead, both teams were beaten and now both teams are staring at a game that, should they lose, will bury them in a very deep hole.
But that's not stopping Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin from talking some serious trash and guaranteeing that Buffalo is going to come to Miami and take down the Dolphins in the battle of Who's Less Mediocre in the AFC East?
Following Buffalo's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, McKelvin decided to move on from his team's fourth-quarter meltdown and focus on the Dolphins instead.
"We're going to go there [Miami], and shit, we're going to beat their ass. Point. Blank. Period."
There might be something to McKelvin's trash talk.
The Bills have beaten Miami three straight times and four out of the last five games against the Dolphins. In Week 2, Buffalo manhandled Miami 29-10. McKelvin intercepted Ryan Tannehill in that game to seal the win.
Now Thursday's game has all the feel of a desperate must-win, as the loser could find itself virtually eliminated from the playoff picture. The AFC as a whole is a logjam of teams looking to get into the postseason. A loss Thursday could mean kaput to those dreams for one of these teams.
The Bills have been a nightmare matchup for the Dolphins as of late, and Miami is coming off a loss in which it lost its best offensive lineman for the year.
But the Dolphins defense has been stellar this season and has been the main reason Miami has found success thus far.
The offense, on the other hand, has been somewhat inconsistent, especially against tougher defenses.
"We have to find our balance, man," receiver Mike Wallace told the media after Sunday's loss to the Lions. "We can't keep doing this on offense. We can't be up and down to be the team that we want to be. We have to be able to finish football games. Our defense played great once again."
Still, coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Lions, maybe McKelvin's trash talk is just what the Dolphins needed to shake off all the sad and focus on Thursday.
Either way, things were expected to be rowdy at Sun Life Stadium come Thursday night.
Now, after McKelvin's comments, it's going to be downright apocalyptic.
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