Dolphins fall short against Bills; lose second consecutive game on late field goal
There are no moral victories when your team has a record of 2-6. The Miami Dolphins played the AFC East leading Buffalo Bills tough on Sunday — something that doesn’t always happen when these two teams meet. However, they couldn’t come away with victory and lost in, what felt like, the most Dolphins way possible.
With their season on the line late in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins offense marched down the field and scored the game tying touchdown on a Tua Tagovailoa pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Unfortunately, for the second consecutive week, the Dolphins defense couldn’t make the plays they needed to make when they needed to make them — looking at you, Jordan Poyer — and after a backbreaking unnecessary roughness penalty, they allowed Bills kicker Tyler Bass to kick a miraculous 61-yard field goal for the victory.
If the team hadn’t collapsed in on itself when Tagovailoa missed four games due to injury earlier in the year, maybe we could take some positives away from Miami’s performance in week nine against the Bills, however, with little-to-no margin for error for the rest of the season, looking for silver linings after losses has gotten incredibly old and tiresome.
Yet, still, we carry on…
GOOD
Tua Tagovailoa has surgical performance against Bills
Tua Tagovailoa has put together back-to-back impressive performances since returning from his latest concussion issue.
Last week, he tallied 234 yards passing and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
Against the Bills, Tagovailoa topped last week’s performance — completing a very impressive 25 of 28 passes (89% completion rate) for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He added three rushing yards on two carries — but had a crucial first down on a fourth down run late in the game. With a 124.9 passer rating, Tagovailoa did everything he could to deliver a victory to the Miami fanbase.
If it weren’t for the young quarterback’s troubling concussion history, fans would be singing the organization’s praises for extending Tagovailoa with a massive new contract this offseason. Regardless, when healthy, Miami’s quarterback continues to prove he is the right man to lead head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense.
BAD
Raheem Mostert’s costly fumble changes game’s momentum in the second half
The Dolphins took a 10-6 halftime lead against the Bills on Sunday in Orchard Park, New York.
No fan who had seen this team play this year expected them to walk away with an easy victory after the first two quarters, however, when Miami took the second-half kickoff and immediately began marching down the field largely due in part to a dominant rushing attack, it felt like the Dolphins were well on their way to taking a double-digit lead with less than a half to play.
Well, that didn’t happen. Why not? Because once again, Miami’s fumbling issues reared its ugly head when running back Raheem Mostert coughed up the football on a solid run while in Buffalo territory. The home team recovered, giving the Bills the ball down just four points. Buffalo would score a touchdown on the ensuing drive, taking the lead, and kickstarting the offensive explosion that would take place for both squads during the final two quarters.
UGLY
Jordan Poyer commits bone-headed penalty on Bills’ final drive; allows for Buffalo first down and eventual game-winning field goal
The Dolphins defense had the Bills down to a 3rd and 9 try with less than a minute left to play and the score tied 27-27. It felt like if Miami could get the stop and the punt — with the way the team’s offense had been playing — the Dolphins had a pretty decent chance of getting themselves into field goal range for a game-winning attempt.
What happened next was a microcosm of Miami’s 2024 season.
Safety Jordan Poyer — a former Buffalo Bills great, yet a massively disappointing signing for the Dolphins — launched himself at Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman on a deep attempt from quarterback Josh Allen. Coleman was already blanketed by a Dolphins defender, yet Poyer lowered his helmet on the hit, making forcible contact with the receiver’s helmet. That penalty will be called 100% of the time, no matter the situation. As a result, the Bills got an automatic first down and just a few plays later, kicked the game-winning 61-yard field goal.
After the game, Poyer spoke with the media and told them he felt the hit was legal — but anyone with the internet (I assume that’s you if you’re reading this), can find multiple still photos of Poyer’s helmet striking Coleman’s violently.
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The Dolphins have fallen to 2-6 on the season thanks to two late field goals in consecutive weeks. With that in mind, I will ask you again, what do you hope to see from the team moving forward? Is it now finally time to trade stars in an effort to stockpile draft picks? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up!
