The Miami Dolphins suffered their first loss of the 2023 season when they dropped a 48-20 decision against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
We rank the five biggest, most important, plays of the game:
1. Diggs' 55-yard touchdown
We could go ahead and pick any of the star's three touchdowns as being key to the outcome, but we'll go with the most glaring and longest one for a few reasons. It wasn't just that it came on a play where cornerback Kader Kohou was flagged for illegal contact or the length of the score or the fact that Diggs broke through the tackle efforts of Kohou (normally a great tackler) and safety Brandon Jones, but it was the score that gave Buffalo a two-score cushion for the first time. It also was emblematic of the issues the Dolphins, mostly Kohou, had with Diggs all game.
2. The Micah Hyde interception
It still felt as though the Dolphins had a fighting chance after holding Buffalo to a field goal on the Bills' first drive of the second half to put the score at 34-20, but the second turnover of the game was a killer. On a second-and-10, Tua Tagovailoa tried to hit Robbie Chosen in the middle of the field between a linebacker and a safety, but with little room to fit the ball. As it turned out, Tua overshot Chosen and the ball went right to Micah Hyde, and the turnover set up a touchdown that made it a three-score margin and basically sealed the deal.
3. The Raheem Mostert fumble
After making a tough catch earlier in the second quarter, Mostert began having ball security issues and after getting bailed out by Braxton Berrios on his first fumble, he and the Dolphins weren't so lucky on the second one. This turnover was doubly problematic became it came on a third-and-1 after Diggs' long touchdown had given Buffalo that 28-14 lead. Instead of being able to cut into their deficit on that drive, the Dolphins handed Buffalo a free three points.
4. The Terron Armstead injury
It was bad enough that the Dolphins had to play without starting center Connor Williams, losing four-time Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead was a tough blow both practically and emotionally. Worse, the injury came on a third-and-2 play when pressure forced an incompletion two plays before Diggs' long touchdown.
5. The Kader Kohou DPI penalty
The Dolphins matched Buffalo's first two touchdowns, but the defense gave up a third TD in three drives to fall behind yet again and it was set up by the 43-yard penalty on Kohou. While there was some hand contact by Kohou on the play, we'll maintain there have been way more egregious infractions in the NFL this season that haven't been flagged and the biggest problem here is that Kohou never turned around to look at the ball and was faceguarding Diggs. Good call or not, the penalty put the ball at the Miami 20 and the Bills were back in the end zone four plays later to take the lead for good.
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