Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) runs for a touchdown against the Dolphins Thursday night. Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Bills are 3-0 but escape past Dolphins in Week 3 proves they aren't yet perfect

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Richie Whitt | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 12:27 PM ET

Glass-half full: The Buffalo Bills are 3-0. Josh Allen is again playing like the MVP. They've scored 30+ points in every game. And on the horizon is an inviting schedule that includes two games against winless teams (New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers) and one against a team they've owned in recent years, the New England Patriots.

Glass-half empty: Nobody's perfect.

The Bills played without their "A" game Thursday night, survived a late scare and still managed to beat the Miami Dolphins by 10 points.

But before we start the 17-0 hype, start mapping out parade routes and urging the 1972 Miami Dolphins to get nervous, let's nitpick at what the Bills can improve on.

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bills have received a couple of good breaks in going 3-0. The tipped fourth-down pass that was caught by Keon Coleman for a touchdown in the epic comeback over the Baltimore Ravens.

And in a surprisingly tied game in the fourth quarter on Thursday night, they greatly benefitted from an extra possession when the Dolphins inexplicably roughed punter Cameron Johnston for a free first down they turned into a crucial touchdown.

As in Week 1 against the Ravens, the defense was shoved around a little by the Dolphins. Buffalo allowed the Dolphins to convert 10 of 15 third downs. Bleacher Report agrees we're searching for cracks in the foundation, but the Bills can — and likely will — get better.

In highlighting a "problem" for every team in Week 3, B/R points to Bobby Babich's injury-depleted unit.

"The absence of key defenders Ed Oliver (ankle), Matt Milano (pec) and Taron Johnson (quad) has yet to cost the Bills in the win column," B/R writes. "But with the secondary hurting, they surrendered 40 points at home in Week 1, and now they've been hit hard in the front seven. Beating the lowly Jets and Dolphins in Weeks 2 and 3 didn't necessarily solve the problem."

We know what Bills Mafia is — and should be — thinking: every team should have such a "problem."