Date and time for Dolphins’ wild-card game vs. Bills announced

The Dolphins will face the Buffalo Bills on the road in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15, their third meeting this season. The game will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

The NFL on Sunday night announced the schedule for the first-round slate shortly after the conclusion of the regular season.

Miami, the AFC’s No. 7 seed, split its season series with Buffalo, the No. 2 seed, as both teams won at home. In Week 3, the Dolphins defeated the Bills, 21-19, their third straight win to open the season. The game was marked by its extreme humidity at Hard Rock Stadium and a pair of late defensive stands. In Week 15, Buffalo defeated Miami, 32-29, amid frigid temperatures in Orchard Park, New York. Kicker Tyler Bass made a game-winning kick as time expired. It was the Dolphins’ third consecutive defeat in a string of five losses that threatened Miami’s playoff spot.

The Dolphins (9-8), who are back in the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season, will enter the first round of the playoffs as the underdogs and with multiple injury questions. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed the last two games of the regular season because of a concussion and it’s unclear if he will be available to play next Sunday. After Miami’s 11-6 win over the New York Jets, coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa is “day to day.”

“I will not even think about any sort of game, whether that’s this year or next year, until he’s fully ready to do so, and that comes with medical clearance,” he said.

Teddy Bridgewater served as the backup to rookie Skylar Thompson in the regular-season finale because of a dislocated pinkie on his right (throwing) hand. And Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead also missed his second consecutive game because of multiple injuries. Running back Raheem Mostert and right tackle Brandon Shell also left Sunday’s game because of injuries.

The Bills (13-3) helped secure the Dolphins’ spot in the playoffs with a 35-23 win over the New England Patriots. In their first game since safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2, Buffalo returned two kickoffs for a touchdown at Highmark Stadium.

The early forecast predicts a temperature of 33 degrees during the day with a 25 percent chance of precipitation.