[2] The rivalry was once lopsided as the Dolphins, one of the league's best teams after Don Shula took over as head coach in the 1970s, amassed 20 consecutive wins over the Bills in that decade.

During the 1990s, the teams faced off four different times in the AFC playoffs, and the period featured Hall of Fame quarterbacks Jim Kelly for Buffalo and Dan Marino for Miami.

[1] The following year, Miami defeated Buffalo for the first time; a late 31-yard Bob Griese touchdown pass to Howard Twilley gave the Dolphins a 17–14 win.

[1] Under head coach Don Shula, the Dolphins became a league power during the decade, appearing in the Super Bowl three times and winning two championships.

Two years later, the Orange Bowl hosted a contest that Chris Iorfida of CBC Sports later called "A rare competitive game between the clubs during the mid- to late-1970s, and an exciting one.

"[5] The Dolphins held a 28–21 lead when Bills reserve quarterback Gary Marangi passed for the tying touchdown in the final minute of the game.

The game in the Miami Orange Bowl went to overtime, where Dolphins placekicker Uwe von Schamann was unsuccessful on two potential game-winning field goal attempts.

The Bills won 38–35 when Joe Danelo made a 36-yard field goal attempt late in overtime;[12] it was Buffalo's first road win in the rivalry for 17 years.

[1] The first of those came in October 1987, when the Bills won 34–31 in overtime after trailing the Dolphins 21–0 in the first half; the game featured six combined touchdown passes by the teams' quarterbacks, Marino of Miami and Jim Kelly of Buffalo.

[15] Most of the 1990s games between the teams featured the quarterback play of Marino and Kelly, who became key figures in the rivalry,[15][16][17] and eventually earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

[24] The first game in the series in the 1993 season, in Rich Stadium, saw an incident where Miami linebacker Bryan Cox gestured at Bills fans, having previously said that he would "retire from football if I am ever traded up there.

Three seasons later, the teams met at Pro Player Stadium on January 2, 1999, for their fourth playoff game of the decade, which the Dolphins won 24–17 after forcing five Bills turnovers.

[35] In 2008, the Bills hosted Miami at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada; it was the first time the country had been the site of a regular season NFL game.

[1] The Dolphins won a close game 34–31 in overtime to move to 10–5 on the year and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2008 with a Denver Broncos loss the next day.

[48] Two weeks later, a fight ensued after a Dolphins touchdown in the fourth quarter that led to the ejections of Landry and his teammate Kenyan Drake.

[49] After staving off a Dolphins comeback, the Bills clinched their first playoff berth in 18 years with a win in Miami, along with a Cincinnati Bengals victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

[56] The Dolphins began the 2020s by hiring former Bills head coach Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator, a position he previously held with Miami from 2000 to 2001.

[57] The first meeting between the two teams in the 2020s resulted in a 31–28 Bills victory in Miami on September 20, 2020, with Allen out-dueling Fitzpatrick with a career-high 417 passing yards and four touchdowns.

[59] The Dolphins ultimately failed to clinch a playoff berth, losing 56–26 to the Bills in the regular season finale,[60] and were eliminated when the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts all won that week.

[61] With both teams in postseason contention, after a long period during which they rarely reached the playoffs, the Democrat and Chronicle's Sal Maiorana wrote that the rivalry had the potential to regain intensity.

[62] In Week 2 of the 2021 season, the Bills won 35–0 in Miami behind a strong rushing attack and defensive performance as Allen surpassed 10,000 career passing yards in the game.

[66] The Dolphins eventually filled the vacant head coaching position with former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

Despite Buffalo running 51 more plays than Miami, several miscues by the Bills offense led to stalled drives that were key to the Dolphins winning.

[73] The rematch that year on December 17 was an offensive shootout decided by a last-second field goal by the Bills' Tyler Bass as Buffalo won 32–29.

[77] The following year, Buffalo beat Miami at home 48–20 on October 1, 2023, handing the Dolphins their first loss of the season one week after the latter scored 70 points on the Denver Broncos.

[78] In their subsequent Week 18 matchup, the teams were playing for the AFC East title, as the Bills had won four straight after being 6–6 while the Dolphins had lost two of their last four games after being once 9–3.

[79] Miami led at halftime 14–7 but were shut out in the second half while Buffalo scored the go-ahead touchdown with seven minutes remaining and recorded a last-minute interception to clinch a 21–14 victory.