Dolphins Falter in Clutch Again, Lose to Bills

The Miami Dolphins lost another close game, 31-21, on Thursday night. This time, it was a contest against the rival Buffalo Bills, dropping the Dolphins to 0-3 on the season, while Buffalo is now 3-0. 

Miami hung with the Bills all night, but just like it lost to the New England Patriots last weekend, key mistakes in big moments allowed the Bills too many chances to win the game. 

Here’s everything you need to know. 

Drive By Drive Recap 

The Dolphins’ offense got off to a hot start, driving 10 plays and 47 yards for the score. A strong kick return from Dee Eskridge set the Dolphins up with good field position, and rookie RB Ollie Gordon capped off the drive with his first career touchdown. 

Buffalo answered with a touchdown drive of its own, going 85 yards on seven plays. Josh Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for a touchdown, making the score 7-7. 

Miami’s next drive was a three-and-out after Tua Tagovailoa missed an open throw on first down and dropped a snap on third down. The Bills got the ball and went right down the field again, as Allen made a classic Allen play when he scrambled outside and found TE Jackson Hawes for an underhanded throw, making the score 14-7.  

The Dolphins stalled out again on the following drive, and it looked like Buffalo was going to run away with the game. The Bills drove into the red zone with little resistance, but stalled out after a sack from Bradley Chubb, his third in as many games. 

Kicker Matt Prater then missed a 39-yard field goal, giving the Dolphins some momentum. 

They capitalized on it, driving 71 yards on 16 plays to tie the game at 14. Tua hit Jaylen Waddle for the score, but the drive was highlighted by several clutch third-down conversions. Tua hit Tyreek Hill while scrambling outside to his left for one, and scrambled for a conversion after slipping a sack a few plays later. 

Miami’s defensive woes continued in the second half. It allowed Buffalo to come out and drive 67 yards in eight plays to retake the lead 21-14. James Cook capped off the drive with a two-yard run. 

Both teams traded two straight punts; the first one Miami forced was the defense’s first real stop of the game, which came halfway through the third quarter. 

Eventually, Miami drove down the field and tied the game at 21 when Tua found Hill in the back of the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter. The Dolphins converted a fourth down earlier in the drive when Tua found Waddle on a drag route against man coverage. 

The Dolphins’ defense got off the field for a third time, but Zach Sieler was called for roughing the punter, extending the Bills’ drive. Buffalo proceeded to drive down the field and retake the lead 28-21 when Allen hit Khalil Shakir on an orbit-motion screen. 

The Dolphins got down to the Bills’ 21-yard line, but Tua threw an interception to linebacker Terrell Bernard with three minutes left in the game. Daniel Brunskill, who replaced Kion Smith in the second half, lost his rep immediately, and Tua never saw Bernard jump the route. 

Buffalo proceeded to run the clock down to around 20 seconds before kicking a 48-yard field goal to make the lead 31-21. 

Offensive Recap 

The offense wasn’t necessarily pretty on Thursday night, but it was enough to keep up with the Bills throughout the game. Most of the passing game was simple dump-offs, with very few downfield plays. 

Tua finished completing 23-of-35 passes for 161 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Both Hill and Waddle had touchdown catches, and Achane led the team in catches with seven but had just 29 yards. 

The real boon for the offense was the advent of the running game. Achane finished with 62 yards on 12 carries, and Gordon added 38 yards on nine carries. Miami’s offensive line got pretty good push throughout the night. 

This is really the first game the Dolphins have been able to run the ball in a non-negative game script. 

What really saved the offense all night, though, was its third-down efficiency. It converted 10 of 15 third downs, including several third-and-longs that extended drives in Buffalo territory. 

Ultimately, of course, it wasn’t enough. Miami’s passing game racked up completions and converted some third downs, but its limited nature made every drive incredibly difficult. 

The deep and intermediate parts of the field appear completely inaccessible, which poses a significant problem for a team with Hill and Waddle at receiver. 

Defensive Recap 

For the third straight week, Miami’s defense got off to a dreadful start. It technically didn’t make a single stop in the first half but was bailed out when Prater missed a 39-yard field goal. 

It did have a stretch in the second half, after Buffalo scored on the opening drive, that looked like they figured things out. However, a roughing the punter call on Sieler extended the Bills' drive after Miami had stopped them three straight times. 

The score was 21-21 at that point, and Miami had a ton of momentum on both sides of the ball. However, that penalty allowed Buffalo to retake the lead. 

Either way, the Bills’ offense got practically whatever it wanted all night. Allen finished the game, completing 22-of-28 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns. The Dolphins kept the Bills’ passing game in front of them, but Allen was incredibly efficient. 

As for the running game, Cook finished with 108 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. Miami’s defensive line got some push in the second half, but it felt like the Bills’ offensive line was winning that battle throughout the game. 

Miami’s defense allowed 360 yards and allowed the Bills to convert six-of-11 third downs. 

The Dolphins will look to get their first win on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets in Week 4.