The Miami Dolphins were defeated by the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, 32-29, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Miami’s loss was their third in a row, as they’ve now fallen down to the final seed in the playoff picture with just three games left – two being against divisional opponents in the New England Patriots and New York Jets.
While the Dolphins looked more competent in Week 15 than they had in their previous two losses, their performance wasn’t enough to overcome a strong Bills’ offensive attack.
Here’s who deserves more credit or blame throughout the contest:
WINNER: The running game
Mostert started off the game with a 28-yard kick return to set up the offense with decent field position. He then had a game-high 136 yards on just 17 carries – 8.0 yards per attempt. Even Salvon Ahmed, who had rushed for just 14 yards all season, recorded six carries for 43 yards an his first score of 2022.
LOSER: The secondary
Buffalo’s offense is tough to stop, and with the injuries that Miami had in the back end of their defense, it’s not surprising that they weren’t able to keep them from scoring over 30 points. Josh Allen threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter score by tight end Dawson Knox.
WINNER: Special teams
Kicker Jason Sanders was talked about as one of the worst in the league for a stretch this season, and the discussion wasn’t unwarranted. However, that means that when he’s good, he deserves credit. He hit both of his extra point attempts and all three of his field goals, including one from 47 yards.
On top of Sanders’ strong day, Thomas Morstead also had one of his best games of the season. He had three of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line – one traveled 59 yards to completely flip the field for Miami’s defense.
LOSER: Mike McDaniel
There seems like there’s always something to poke at with McDaniel’s game plan, even when they’re winning. In this contest, it would be the decision to move away from the run late in the game despite the fact that they were rushing at an impressive clip. If Miami had stuck with the running game, especially in third-and-short scenarios or in the red zone, there’s a chance that they walk away victorious.
