In what was billed as a possible game of the week across the league, the Miami Dolphins held their home field and delivered the Bills their first loss of the season. Miami now sits at 3-0, the lone undefeated in the AFC, while Buffalo drops to 2-1 and had their seven-game winning streak against Miami come to an end.
Still streaking, however, the Dolphins have won eight straight at Hard Rock Stadium, thanks in part to the unofficial 12th man – the Sun. A trip around social media will have many notice complaints about the structural plans of Hard Rock, which any Dolphins fan would know has a strategic roof that helps shade the Dolphins’ sideline while creating a perfect rectangle of sunlight on the visitor’s bench.
Some were so appalled by the “working conditions” that there were tweets requesting action from OSHA. The sun, nor OSHA, were available for comment.
Apparently, those who support the Bills forgot that once the calendar hits mid-October, Buffalo turns into a potential windy, wintery whirlwind of weather unseen in most NFL cities.
Regardless of things like weather or injuries, which both sides had significant examples of, a football game must be won with what you have and the coaches using their professional player assets to score more points.
The Dolphins even had a scare when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was hit late on a roughing-the-passer and appeared to land hard on his back and head. Initially, the thought was a concussion, as it was noticeable that Tagovailoa’s head bounced off of the ground, and as he rose to his feet, he immediately stumbled in a scary moment.
Later in the post-game press conference, Tagovailoa clarified that it was his back that was hurt, and the force of the hit on the ground, as well as a previous hit, forced his legs to give out due to that pain.
Tagovailoa stated that he did, in fact, hit his head as well, but the third-year quarterback ran out of the tunnel, helmet in hand, ready for the second half, which caused thunderous applause from the Miami faithful.
Buffalo had a number of opportunities to extend the score or even win the game at the end. However, it’s this bend-not-break Dolphins defense that comes up with goal-line stands and key stops when needed the most. Not to mention a timely turnover in a perfect area of the field, as a Jevon Holland strip-sack led Melvin Ingram to recover his second of the season, setting up a Chase Edmonds rushing score.
While the game was tied and in striking distance either way for the full 60 minutes, the Bills dominated virtually every number. Buffalo ran 90 offensive plays to Miami’s 39 and controlled the time of possession 41 minutes to 19.
The Bills outgained Miami 497 yards to 212 and converted 61.1% of their third-downs to Miami’s 37.5%. However, the Dolphins were three-for-three in their red zone trips, and Buffalo was two-for-four. On goal-to-go situations, Buffalo was that same mark, and Miami hit both of their situations yards from paydirt.
Simply put, this wasn’t a pretty win in aesthetics, but a win is a win, and Miami turns around a short week to start preparation for a Thursday Night Football game on the road against the 1-2 Cincinnati Bengals.
Dolphins streaks and trends
- This 3-0 start by Miami is their third since this century and 15th in franchise history. Of those 15 occurrences, Miami has made the playoffs in nine of those seasons.
- The Dolphins have outscored opponents in the fourth quarter this season 35-5.
- They now have an eight-game home winning streak and this is the team’s longest since a 10-game stretch from Dec. 17, 1984 to Sept. 14, 1986. The eight-game streak is the longest in Hard Rock Stadium history.
QB1
- Tagovailoa finished with a passer rating of 123.8. He’s the only quarterback this season to have a 100+ passer rating in all three games.
- Tagovailoa has led the Dolphins to fourth-quarter game-winning drives in consecutive games for the first time in his career. The Bills game was his sixth career game-winning drive and fourth career fourth-quarter comeback win.
- Tagovailoa’s start to 2022 has seen him throw for 925 passing yards on 71.3% passing with eight touchdowns and only two interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 92.5 and leads the AFC in yards per pass attempt at 9.2. He’s also second in the league in passer rating at 117.8.
- On Sunday, Buffalo had an average gain per offensive play of 5.5 yards, and Miami averaged a similar 5.4. Tagovailoa averaged 7.8 yards per pass gain, while Josh Allen averaged 5.7.
An ascending wideout
- Jaylen Waddle has the second most receiving yards to start a Miami Dolphins season since Mark Clayton in 1986. Waddle has 342 yards through three games, and Clayton started 1986 off with 411 yards in the first three contests. Tyreek Hill is actually third on the list with 317 yards.
- Per the Miami Dolphins communication department, Jaylen Waddle’s four receptions in Week 3 give him 123 in his first 19 career games. With his 20th game still to go, it’s already the second-most in NFL history through a player’s first 20 career games. Odell Beckham Jr. is first with 141 receptions.
Budding star safety
- Jevon Holland has played in 19 NFL games and has had his hand in a Dolphins takeaway seven times. Sunday against the Bills was his first forced fumble, but he also has three interceptions and three fumble recoveries in his short career.
