ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – After all the big games Buffalo and Miami have played over the years, this one’s unprecedented for all the wrong reasons.

Two heated AFC East rivals who spent much of the 1990s battling for conference and divisional supremacy prepare for the Basement Bowl, a game today between the NFL’s only two winless teams.

“I didn’t expect it to be a battle of the defeateds,” Bills tight end Mark Campbell said. “It doesn’t mean much around the NFL, but it means a lot here. It’s still Miami and we’re still Buffalo, so we look at it as a huge game. And frankly, we need this.”

The Dolphins are also shaking their heads over how far both teams have fallen.

“I remember growing up watching the Bills and the Dolphins. I always wanted to be part of that,” Miami tight end Randy McMichael said. “Now that I’m a part of it, I wish it was on better circumstances.”

The Dolphins have opened with five straight losses, matching their worst start in franchise history. They’re banged up and in disarray, unable to overcome Ricky Williams’ abrupt departure last summer.

The Bills (0-4) aren’t much better, the only consolation being they’ve had one fewer game to squander because of an early season bye. Otherwise, the only thing Buffalo has been adept at is losing games in the clutch, with three losses determined by three points or less and three in which Buffalo had a lead in the fourth quarter.

It’s the first time the two teams face each other with losing records since 1987, when both were 2-3.

From a league perspective, it’s the first time two teams have combined to lose nine or more games to start a season since Washington and Philadelphia – both 0-5 – met in October 1998, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“I never imagined this,” Bills defensive tackle Pat Williams said. “I guess something’s got to give.”

That something might have to come on defense, considering how inept both teams have been on offense.

The Dolphins are averaging a league-worst eight points a game. They’ve mustered just three offensive touchdowns, none of them rushing, and have suddenly lost their leading scorer to injury.

That would be kicker Olindo Mare, who has accounted for 20 of Miami’s 42 points, and is out after hurting his calf warming up prior to last weekend’s 24-10 loss at New England. Things didn’t get better when both quarterbacks, A.J. Feeley (concussion) and Jay Fiedler (ribs) were hurt on the Dolphins’ final possession.

Whichever quarterback is the healthiest will start against Buffalo.

It’s just a continuation of the string of misfortune that has plagued Miami.

This is a team that not only lost Williams but, due to injuries, was eventually down to playing its fifth- and sixth-string running backs, Leonard Henry and Brock Forsey. Miami’s receiving corps suffered a hit after newly acquired David Boston had season-ending knee surgery in August.

Flag Mother Nature for piling on, with the dates of two home games changed because of hurricanes.

What else can go wrong?

“Well, I probably would’ve said that three weeks ago, but the what-else’s keep happening,” coach Dave Wannstedt said.

Miami’s stout defense, allowing a respectable 17 points per game, has been the difference in at least keeping the games respectable.

If misery loves company, the Dolphins couldn’t get a better opponent than the sputtering Bills.

Buffalo’s offense is averaging just under 13 points a game, and has generated just five touchdowns. The defense is much better, but proving inconsistent, showing troubling signs of wilting in the clutch.

That was apparent in last weekend’s 16-14 loss against the Jets, a game decided when the Bills allowed the Jets to cap a 60-yard drive with Doug Brien’s 38-yard field goal with under a minute left.

Linebacker Takeo Spikes said it’s time to forget the past.

“This is not the season as far as the way we wanted to start out,” Spikes said. “Winning cures everything. The bumps and bruises don’t hurt as much. The media doesn’t look as bad. The food tastes a little better. Everything is a plus. … Yeah, you’ll have something good to write about.”

AP-ES-10-14-04 1913EDT