Dolphins Week 3 Instant Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins put a valiant effort against the powerhouse Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, though the end result was another loss that dropped their record to 0-3 on the season.

While it looked like Buffalo was the better team all night, the Dolphins stuck around and gave themselves a chance to win at the end before Tua Tagovailoa was picked off on a first-and-10 from the Buffalo 21.

It was the second consecutive bad finish for Tagovailoa, who failed to lead the offense to a score on the final two drives against New England in Week 2.

This might have been worse because the Dolphins had a chance to get their season on track had they been able to pull this one off, and the pick was way too easy for linebacker Terrel Bernard in the middle of the field on a pass intended for Jaylen Waddle.

Other quick thoughts on the game and the Dolphins' performance:

-- The Dolphins deserve some credit for giving Buffalo all it could handle, in the process showing this is a team still playing hard for its head coach.

-- It also should be noted there were no operational snafus on offense with a delay of game, and that obviously was a step in the right direction.

-- It's been a rough start to the season for Zach Sieler after he signed a contract extension over the summer, and he was on the wrong end of the biggest play of the game, the roughing-the-kicker penalty that kept alive Buffalo's game-winning touchdown drive. Replays showed long-snapper Reid Ferguson's foot might have propelled Sieler's momentum into the punter, but it wasn't clear-cut. It's also the second time this season the Dolphins have given opponents a free first down, the mark of a losing team.

-- It overall was a strange outing for Tagovailoa, who had a hard time getting anything downfield, but also was very sharp on the touchdown drives. His work on the drive at the end of the first half showcased a couple of plays we don't often see from him, first a completion downfield while rolling out and the other an 8-yard scramble for a first down after he was flushed out of the pocket. His outing, like the one against New England, will be remembered for how it ended.

-- Ollie Gordon II showed the kind of determined running we saw throughout the summer, the kind of running that had fans and media members thinking he could make a big impact on offense. In addition to his touchdown, Gordon had a couple of really impressive ones, none better than when linebacker Shaq Thompson hit him low in the backfield but he just shook off the tackle attempt and wound up gaining 16 yards.

-- The offense, though, again focused on De'Von Achane, who is the focal point just like he was last year. And he continues to deliver with his ability to maximize his opportunities.

-- The offensive line again played without the starting right side of James Daniels and Austin Jackson and there was some pressure at times on Tua that forced some incompletions, but there were no jailhouse breaks and he wound up not getting sacked.

SMALL STEPS ON DEFENSE

-- The scoreboard will show the Dolphins allowing 30 points for the third time in three games this season, and that's obviously not good enough, but the defense did come up with three stops in the second half to give the offense the chance to help pull off the upset.

-- Again, though, what was lacking from the defense was a takeaway. It's still zero in that column for 2025 and it just puts some pressure on the offense.

-- Jack Jones had a rough first drive, but he turned in a very good performance after that, both against the run and in coverage.

-- The run defense remains a problem, even though it didn't stiffen a bit in the second half.

-- Tyrel Dodson was very active in the first half.

-- It's weird because Josh Allen had three touchdown passes and Buffalo topped 30 points, but the defense still limited the damage he did to a certain degree.

-- Ultimately, though, Allen didn't make any mistakes for Buffalo in terms of turnovers and it could be as simple as looking at this game and the difference as those two mistakes — the interception and the special teams penalty. And it's a big reason Buffalo is 3-0 and Miami is 0-3.

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