By Steven Wine
The Associated Press

MIAMI - Receiver Eric Moulds spat in cornerback Patrick Surtain's face last season, which did nothing to dampen the Buffalo Bills' rivalry with the Miami Dolphins.

The relationship between AFC East teams has often been testy. Still, an expectoration confrontation was surprising, because the Miami secondary usually struggles to stay within spitting distance of Moulds.

Five times since 1999, Moulds has burned the Dolphins with touchdown receptions of more than 50 yards. He caught grief for showering Surtain last December, but he also caught five passes for 130 yards and a score. And he had a 196-yard game against Miami in 2001.

In short, for Miami, beating Buffalo starts with stopping Moulds. That will be the challenge Sunday night when the teams meet with first place in the division on the line.

"I'm playing the same way I play against Miami every year," Moulds pledged. "I'm going to be Eric Moulds."

The Dolphins (1-1) can only hope they're not going to be the same Dolphins who have given up a total of 639 yards passing against Houston and the New York Jets. Neither opponent packs the punch of the Bills (2-0), who lead the AFC with 69 points.

"They're the hottest team in the NFL," Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. "They're hitting on all cylinders."

The Bills appear much improved over last year, when they struggled to an 8-8 record, and even then they swept the two-game series against Miami. A come-from-behind Buffalo victory was part of the Dolphins' annual December tailspin.

Miami led 14-3 when Surtain tackled Moulds at midfield. Then came the snit about spit.

Surtain took a swing at Moulds, drawing a penalty that turned a second-and-16 into a first down. The drive ended in a Bills touchdown, reversing momentum, and they won 38-21.

Moulds said any spitting was accidental, a claim rejected by Surtain. Moulds has said he and Surtain patched things up at the Pro Bowl, but Surtain said they never talked there.

Surtain's teammates also weighed in on the spat. Safety Brock Marion said he lost all respect for Moulds. Larry Chester, a 325-pound tackle, said he hopes Moulds spits on him Sunday.

"Every time somebody talks, it seems like I have a good game," Moulds said. "So we'll see what happens."

It's a daunting matchup for the Dolphins, who say they're still adjusting to a new scheme mixing occasional zone coverage with the man-to-man employed in the past. Moulds and quarterback Drew Bledsoe often scorched Miami's aggressive but risky one-on-one approach.

"Whenever I see man-to-man coverage on Eric, that's where I'm going to try to throw the ball, regardless of who the corner is," Bledsoe said. "I just think Eric is that good - that whoever it is, he's going to win if it's straight man coverage."

While Miami worries about Bledsoe-to-Moulds, the Bills' biggest concern is Ricky Williams. Last December, however, they won even though he rushed for 228 yards.

"He's a downhill runner, but we're not worried," defensive tackle Pat Williams said. "If everybody stays in their gap, he's not going to have many yards."

Another way to limit damage done by Ricky Williams is to get ahead and force Miami to throw.

The Bills have been at their best early this season, taking 14-0 leads after two possessions in each of the first two games. In those possessions, Bledsoe is 16-for-20 for 262 yards, and he'll likely waste little time testing a pass defense that is Miami's glaring weakness so far.

Defensive backs Surtain, Marion, Sam Madison and newcomer Sammy Knight earned Pro Bowl berths in the past. But this season the opposition is completing 60 percent of its passes, partly because of a feeble rush that has registered just one sack.

Poor tackling in the secondary led to gains of 78 and 61 yards.

"We've given up too many big plays, but we can't hang our head," Surtain said. "We're not used to this happening to us. It's missed tackles, bad angles, things that are correctable. We know what we're capable of, and things will come around. It's a long season, and we'll turn it around when we have to."

Sunday would be a good time. Otherwise, the forecast calls for a big night by Moulds, with a chance of precipitation.

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