MIAMI (AP) - Last week the Miami Dolphins attended the Broadway play "Lombardi," then followed their usual script on the road and beat the New York Jets.
This week?
"We might look for a play here in Miami," coach Tony Sparano said with a smile. "Maybe some Christmas play, or `Fiddler on the Roof."'
With his team back home Sunday to face the Buffalo Bills, Sparano is eager for a happy ending. The Dolphins are 6-1 on the road but 1-5 at home, a bizarre disparity unmatched in the NFL since 1980.
"That is interesting," Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. "You would think it would be flip-flopped. I guess it just shows you it's hard to win in the NFL, no matter where you are."
A succession of stumbles at home have left the Dolphins (7-6) with slim playoff prospects. The Bills (3-10) are merely trying to lay a solid foundation for next year with a late-season surge, and they'll be in the spoilers' role against an AFC East rival.
"Nobody up here likes Miami," Buffalo first-year coach Chan Gailey said. "Let's be honest. It has been that way before I got here, and it will be that way after I leave. These two teams don't like each other. You enjoy the moment, because you love it when two teams that don't like each other play."
Maybe bad blood will get the Dolphins going, although they're 0-2 at home within the division.
They've been outscored 160-79 in their stadium. It's small consolation that four of the five losses have been to likely playoff teams, with Cleveland the exception.
The woeful trend actually dates to last season, when the Dolphins lost their final two games, both at home. They've been beaten in seven of their past eight home games.
Maybe a night at "Fiddler on the Roof" would help, although Sparano has already tried shaking up the routine at home. The day before the most recent game in Miami, Sparano bused his team to the stadium for a tour of the locker room and field.
"We were just trying to simulate what you do on an away week," running back Ronnie Brown said.
The result: a dismal 13-10 loss to the Browns.
"I don't know what it is," Sparano said. "We've tried everything."
The repeated flops at home are especially puzzling because the Dolphins have been so successful away from Miami. They're tied with the Steelers for the NFL's best road record. The home-road differential is the largest in the NFL since the 1980 Seattle Seahawks were 0-6 at home and 4-1 on the road, according to STATS LLC.
There are other disparities. The Dolphins have thrown 11 interceptions at home and two on the road. Brown is averaging 2.7 yards per carry at home and 4.3 on the road.
Like Sparano, his players are unable to come up with an explanation.
"People are going to make a big deal out of it," Brown said. "But we just have to take care of business. No matter where we're playing, we've got our backs against the wall. We must win these next three games."
To have any shot at the playoffs, that's likely true.
Buffalo, meanwhile, is playing out the string - a familiar situation for a team that will miss the playoffs for an 11th consecutive year, matching Detroit for the NFL's longest active drought.
The Bills may find motivation facing an intradivision rival in each of their final three games.
"To be good, the first thing is you've got to be good in is your division," Fitzpatrick said. "You've got to be able to beat those teams, and we haven't had a lot of success with that recently. I think this is a big three weeks for us, starting with Miami, in terms of seeing where we are in our division. Obviously we're at the bottom right now."
The Bills' fortunes have been on the rise lately, though. After starting 0-8, they've won three of the past five games, including a victory last week against Cleveland.
Buffalo has been hit hard by injuries, most recently to receiver Lee Evans, whose streak of 71 consecutive starts will end Sunday because of a season-ending ankle sprain. Even so, Gailey's ongoing shakeup of the roster and lineup - most notably a switch to Fitzpatrick - has made the Bills more competitive.
"These guys understand work ethic, and we're going to honor guys that understand work ethic," Gailey said. "You have to honor that, because the league is full of guys who maybe aren't the best players at their position, but they go out and work so hard they'll find a way to help you win on Sundays."
The Bills looked hapless in a season-opening 15-10 loss to the Dolphins. But that was 14 weeks ago in Buffalo.
"We're a completely different team now," Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay said.
And in Miami, the Dolphins are a completely different team.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
