Miami Gardens, Fla. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - On a short week, the Buffalo Bills rolled into South Florida and took care of business handily against the Miami Dolphins, 31-10, on "Thursday Night Football" at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Bills defense made a statement right off the bat against a fast and furious Miami offense.
With the Dolphins facing a 3rd-and-13 at their own 39-yard line, a Tua Tagovailoa pass ended up bouncing up in the air off the shoulder of his receiver and into the hands of cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram. He returned the ball 25 yards and ended up giving the Buffalo offense a start at the Miami 37-yard line.
Following the Dolphins' turnover, the Buffalo offense immediately went to work and put up the first seven points of the game.
After a big third down stop by Miami in the red zone, the Bills went for it on fourth down, where quarterback Josh Allen found running back James Cook to the left side with wide-open space for a 17-yard touchdown.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins looked to bounce back after their opening drive interception and did just that, putting together a 10-play, 80-yard drive with running back De’Von Achane finding the end zone from five yards out off a pass from the Miami quarterback.
After a three-and-out from the Bills offensively, the defense came up with another forced turnover through the air. Bills cornerback Christian Benford was in the right spot waiting for an overthrown ball intended for receiver Robbie Chosen, and returned the pick to the Miami 44-yard line.
Despite starting in decent field position for seven more points, the Bills only managed 19 yards on the drive, enough to get Tyler Bass in range for a 43-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The Buffalo defense stood tall with a forced three-and-out, allowing the Bills offense to go right back to work to extend their lead.
It took eight plays over the span of 85 yards and 4:29 off the clock for the Bills to find the end zone again, as Cook punched his way for seven points again from one-yard on the ground.
With the Dolphins trying to keep any sort of momentum on their side, they ended up going for a 4th-and-2 at the Bills' 45-yard line with less than four minutes left in the first half. However, Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver came up big for the defense with a huge fourth down sack of Tagovailoa, forcing a turnover on downs.
All it took was one play for the Bills to really put the Dolphins in a hole, as Cook found a hole through the offensive line, cut to the outside and beat former Bills safety Jordan Poyer on his way for a 49-yard touchdown run.
With time running down in the opening half, the Dolphins needed to cut into the Buffalo lead, but showed little-to-no urgency to find the end zone and get seven points on the board. They were able to get into field goal range for kicker Jason Sanders, who successfully kicked a 34-yard field goal to close out the half.
The Buffalo offense got the ball to start the third quarter, looking to extend the Bills lead, but only managed to get 17 yards on the drive before punting the ball to the Dolphins.
Disaster struck early for the Dolphins on their opening drive of the second half.
Facing a 3rd-and-5 at their own 30-yard line and facing pressure from A.J. Epenesa on the pass rush, Tagovailoa attempted to throw the ball away, only for it to land right in the hands of Ingram. Not only did Ingram tally his second interception of the night, he also took it back 31 yards for his first career touchdown.
A scary moment happened for the Dolphins on their next drive as they looked to try and claw their way back into the game.
Facing a fourth down in the Buffalo red zone, Tagovailoa was able to extend their drive with a six-yard run to gain a first down. However, as he was going down to the turf, he was met by Bills safety Damar Hamlin and took a shot to the head.
While Tagovailoa was able to walk off the field under his own power, he was quickly ruled out of the game with a concussion.
Skylar Thompson entered the game for the Dolphins at quarterback, but things didn't get any better from there for Miami.
To close out the drive Thompson entered the game, he took a fourth down sack from Bills pass rusher Von Miller.
After a Bills punt, the Buffalo defense came up with another turnover on downs thanks to a fourth down stop from defensive end Greg Rousseau, wrapping up Thompson as he tried to scramble for the yards to gain on a 4th-and-9.
While the Bills had good field position to officially put the cherry on top of a win in Miami, Bass was unable to tack on three more points in the fourth quarter after missing a 45-yard field goal attempt wide to the left.
Even with a comeback attempt far out of reach, the Dolphins attempted one more drive to put some points on the board late in the game, but failed to find the end zone after getting to the Bills' 11-yard line with 2:02 remaining in the game.
The Bills then turned to the second-string players on offense to close out the game, successfully killing the remaining time to seal a 31-10 win.
----------
GAME RECAP
First Quarter:
- 7-0 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (9:49) - Josh Allen tosses a pass to James Cook, who takes off for a 17-yard touchdown. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 37 yards, 2:27
- 7-7 TIE: Miami touchdown (3:21) - Tua Tagovailoa lobs a short pass to De'Von Achane, who finds the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. (Jason Sanders' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 10 plays, 70 yards, 6:28
Second Quarter:
- 10-7 BUFFALO: Bills field goal (12:41) - Tyler Bass' 43-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 7 plays, 19 yards, 3:00
- 17-7 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (6:25) - James Cook rushes up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 8 plays, 85 yards, 4:29
- 24-7 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (3:36) - James Cook find a hole and runs to the outside for a 49-yard touchdown. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 1 play, 49 yards, 0:09
- 24-10 BUFFALO: Dolphins field goal (0:04) - Jason Sanders' 34-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 13 plays, 54 yards, 3:32
Third Quarter:
- 31-10 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (9:27) - Ja'Marcus Ingram picks off Tua Tagovailoa and returns it 31 yards for a touchdown. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Fourth Quarter:
- NO SCORING PLAYS
----------
SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
----------
Up next:
The Bills will get an extended period off before facing the Jacksonville Jaguars for a "Monday Night Football" showdown at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 23. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.