The Miami Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills in a hard-fought 21-19 victory at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, moving Miami to a perfect 3-0 record.
The game was an emotional tug of war, with several players on both teams injured and the score being extremely close. After the game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa exchanged long embraces on the field.
The 36-year-old punter, Thomas Morstead took a step into the Miami goal line, swung his powerful right leg, and punted right into the backside of teammate wide receiver Trent Sherfield. The deflected punt provided Buffalo with one last chance to win. However, the Dolphins’ defense was able to keep Allen and Bill’s offense at bay.
Dolphins’ linebacker Melvin Ingram and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah tackled Bills’ wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie in bounds on the game’s final play, granting Miami the glory. The Bills then tried in vain to spike the ball before running out of time.
“It was only fourteen or twelve seconds,” Ingram said, who had a fumble recovery in the first half. “You run around, throw the ball. He runs all the way around, that clock is going to down.”
Sunday’s game
A minute into the fourth quarter, the Bills led 17-14 when Bills’ placekicker Tyler Bass missed a 38-yard field goal attempt. Tagovailoa reacted immediately, trying to connect with Dolphins’ wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for 32 after the miss, and he then hit Waddle for 45 yards, setting up Chase Edmonds’ touchdown.
Tagovailoa was productive with the ball, completing 13 of his 18 passes despite not scoring. Miami, on the other hand, struggled to run the ball, gaining only 41 yards on 17 attempts.
“I don’t like these shock endings,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said. “But I’m just really, really happy for the team because this much I do know: Teams win football games, and if you are going to have success over the long haul, you have to have confidence that whatever phase can win a football game for you, can go ahead and do that.”
Tagovailoa briefly left the game in the second quarter after being hit on the back by Bills linebacker Matt Milano but returned after halftime despite appearing disoriented due to a head injury. Allen went to the X-ray room after the game, so he could have been hurt as well.
“I’m doing good. We’ll go get those checked, but for the most part, it feels good, especially after a win.” Tagovailoa said after the game.
At the half, the score was 14-14. Allen had a strong first half, completing 6 of 6 passes on Buffalo’s opening drive, including a two-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal to Bills running back Devin Singletary.
Allen’s second touchdown pass of the half, an eight-yard touchdown pass to McKenzie, gave Buffalo a 14-7 lead three minutes into the second quarter. Allen completed 42 of 63 passes for 400 yards and a touchdown completing a career-high. He was sacked four times and took several hard hits throughout the game.
Buffalo’s defense played well, especially considering the absence of safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. However, Buffalo’s defense obtained little help from an offense that was only 2 of 4 in the red zone. The Bills lost despite having 31 first downs and 497 total yards to Miami’s 212.
“You should win those games,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “We just didn’t take care of the ball enough and come away with some takeaways.”
Allen and the teams will face Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, who recently defeated the New England Patriots, next Sunday. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins will meet the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday.