The Buffalo Bills fell to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 9 on the road in the Florida sun. Turnovers came at costly times, and the Bills exhausted themselves as they failed to crawl their way out of a deficit. Buffalo lost 30-13.
Buffalo was shutout for three quarters, starting its first scoring drive with two minutes left in the third quarter and finishing in the end zone with 12:36 on the fourth quarter clock.
Miami was forced to punt, with head coach Mike McDaniel opting to punt rather than try for a nearly 59-yard field goal. Quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense were placed at their own two-yard-line after a 39-yard punt that didn’t bounce into the end zone.
At his own 21-yard-line a few plays later for short yardage gained, Allen and wide receiver Tyrell Shavers sparked the offense with a 24-yard completion that was followed by a 20-yard pass to tight end Dawson Knox. After back-to-back explosive plays, wide receiver Keon Coleman got involved and turned his 35-yard reception into a score.
Following the Bills’ first touchdown of the game, the defense got the offense back on the field as quick as possible.
Cornerback Cam Lewis put the pressure on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on third-and-10, and instead of taking a sack, Tagovailoa threw the ball in the air deep down the field looking for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Cornerback Maxwell Hairston jumped up and recorded his second consecutive interception of his newly started rookie campaign.
This interception was not converted into points for Buffalo. Instead, as Allen fought to extend a quarterback keeper on third-and-one, Miami forced a fumble and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick dropped on top of the ball to put the Dolphins back in control.
Fitzpatrick sacked Allen on third down late in the fourth quarter as well, but the Bills had no choice but to go for it as they were down by three scores with less than five minutes remaining. Defensive end Bradley Chubb caught up to Allen on the next play after he escaped the pocket, but Allen managed to get the ball out before stepping out of bounds and connected with wide receiver Khalil Shakir for a 24-yard completion.
The Bills’ drive extended thanks to a 15-yard taunting penalty called on Chubb following his sack. This put Buffalo at the Miami 26-yard-line, and Allen capitalized on the free first down immediately. He connected with tight end Jackson Hawes for the team’s second touchdown of the game.
Coming out in the third quarter ready to receive the opening kickoff of the second half, Allen carried the Bills’ offense looking for its first score of the afternoon.
After a series of short gains, Allen reignited his offense with a 15-yard scramble on third-and-six. However, it was called back due to an offensive holding called on tackle Spencer Brown and Allen was forced to exert even more energy to push his offense down the field.
Running around in the backfield, scanning for options, Allen kept escaping defensemen and directed traffic enough to convert on third down. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel caught Allen’s long-awaited pass and kept the drive alive.
This drive eventually led Buffalo into the red zone for the first time on Sunday, which included a 14-yard pick up from running back James Cook III and nine-yard scramble from Allen. Inside the 10-yard-line, Allen looked to connect with Knox in the end zone. The drive that lasted just over nine minutes, though, ended up in the Dolphins’ hands as cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu got his hands on the ball before the veteran tight end. Allen and his offense returned to the sidelines tired, out of breath and scoreless.
Miami’s defense shut the Bills out in the first half as Buffalo struggled to get the run and pass game going. The last time the Bills were shutout in the first two quarters of play was in 2023 against the Giants. In the first half, Allen and his offense couldn’t find a rhythm in the run or pass game, except for flashes from the tight end room.
On the second possession of the second quarter, Allen connected with tight end Dalton Kincaid for a 20-yard completion. Kincaid had just enough space from Fitzpatrick to make the catch and put the Bills at their own 35-yard-line. Allen found the third-year tight end again on the following play to advance the offense closer to midfield. On a 17-yard reception, Kincaid jumped up and leaned toward his left to make the grab and hopefully bring life to the offense.
Despite moving down the field into Miami territory on this drive, Cook fumbled the ball on a carry that resulted in the Dolphins’ offense taking back over.
Looking to gain as many yards as possible on first-and-10, Cook used his arm to keep himself off the ground, extending far enough for nine yards. However, as he fought for extra yardage, cornerback Jack Jones punched the ball out and a parade of Miami defensemen were prepared to jump on it. Samuel brought one player down to try and buy the Bills time to recover the ball deep in Dolphins territory, but it was cornerback Julius Brents who got on top of it first at his own five-yard-line.
After safety Cole Bishop’s initial interception on the opening drive of the game, Miami’s offense adjusted to create a 16-point lead at halftime. This became the largest deficit Buffalo faced all season with its previous being 15 points down against Baltimore in Week 1. The Bills eventually went down 17 points in the fourth quarter against Miami with almost three minutes left.
Miami exhausted the Bills quickly, and productive plays were wiped out throughout the game. The Dolphins took advantage of this and made it a three-score game with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter as running back De’Von Achane broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run. Hairston was on his heels, but his diving attempt to take Achane down by his ankles was unsuccessful. Achane escaped Hairston’s hands and put Miami up 23-6.
Achane solidified the Dolphins’ win with a 35-yard touchdown, putting his team up 30-13 with less than four minutes remaining in the game.