Buffalo Rumblings
Even with some stellar performances, it wasn’t enough for the Dolphins to win at Highmark Stadium
The Miami Dolphins played about as well as they could have on Sunday, giving the Buffalo Bills all they had in what was as close to a must-win game as there can be in November. Even still, Miami was undone by a late field goal for the second consecutive week, dropping a 30-27 decision to the Bills in a heartbreaking defeat.
The margin of error in the NFL is so thin that, really, if not for a pair of field goals in their last two games, we could very well be talking about a Miami team that is 4-4 and building momentum towards a second-half run. However, those two last-second kicks were good, so we’re instead talking about a 2-6 Miami team that has run clean out of margin for error.
The Dolphins played a fantastic game on Sunday, and the Bills had some trouble containing their top stars. Here’s how our five Dolphins to watch performed this week.
Tua Tagovailoa was absolutely dealing on Sunday. He threw just three incomplete passes, dropping dime after dime on Buffalo’s secondary. He finished 25-of-28 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He even added three yards rushing, including a four-yard scramble for a first down.
Really, there isn’t much to say about Tagovailoa that isn’t positive after that performance. He hit on passes at all levels of the field, and he was able to spread the ball around to seven different receivers on the day. He even led a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter that, if not for a blatant unnecessary roughness penalty on old friend Jordan Poyer, could have been of even greater importance.
For the second straight week, Tagovailoa’s strong performance went for naught.
Part of the reason this game went so well for Miami is that their head coach and offensive play caller, Mike McDaniel, stayed committed to the run throughout the game. Too often, McDaniel stops giving his ultra-talented running backs touches, instead prioritizing the pass even when the run is working.
This time, Miami carried the rock 31 times for 149 yards and a score, and Achane was a big part of the team’s offensive production. Not only did he run it 12 times for 63 yards, which were both game-highs, but he also added a touchdown on the ground along with eight receptions for 58 more yards and a score.
Achane led all players in catches and receiving yards, as well. He is such a good player, and the Bills struggled with him all day long.
In the first half, Buffalo shut Hill and his counterpart, Jaylen Waddle, down in a big way. Hill had just one catch on two targets for six yards in the first half of the game. That’s not necessarily what I expected would happen after learning that Buffalo’s top cornerback, Christian Benford,...
