It was not the worst of temperatures (83 degrees) that accompanied the Dolphins on a Thursday night where not even the heat of the 65,300 fans who packed the Hard Rock Stadium to cheer on their team was of much help, in the game against the Buffalo Bills in which tragedy was brewing.
It was of no use that the Miami team took to the field in retro aquamarine and white uniforms seeking to replicate the success of their younger years. It couldn’t have been worse.
With the game already decided in favor of his rival, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, in a desperate attempt to close a huge gap, suffered a strong blow to the head, which left him lying on the field in the third quarter when he collided with safety Damar Hamlin.
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Tua’s neck was bent to the side and the back of his head hit the grass as he fell.
Luckily he was able to get out on his feet, but he did not return and will now have to undergo various tests to see if he has a concussion, which could even end his season.
The game was already lost and the Bills took a well-deserved 31-10 victory after beating the unknown Dolphins, who played one of their worst games and now have a 1-1 record.
This was the fifth consecutive time Miami has lost to its division’s losers and the 12th time in the last 13 meetings.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who also had a rough night, spoke about Tua, his team, and what’s next.
“I don’t really know. The procedural evaluation will be tomorrow [Friday] and you have to take it day by day. He’ll spend some time being evaluated and we’ll have some conversations about what’s appropriate,” McDaniel said.
“I think it’s important to approach each situation. I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands in terms of just being concerned about the human being and you know he’ll steer the ship when we have the right information, but I’m sticking with his health.”
“This loss hurts, but I think we have enough veteran players in that locker room who understand that confidence will come from within. We know what will be said about us. It will probably last a while and we will have plenty of opportunities to vent frustration and anger about the way we approach our jobs on a day-to-day basis, but we will move on from this,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was unlucky, and not just because of the injury. The quarterback completed 17 of his 25 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown but had three costly interceptions.
His replacement Skylar Thompson completed eight of his 14 passes and accumulated 80 yards.
Wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were stopped short and managed just 24 and 41 yards respectively. Credit to Buffalo’s defense.
Running back De’Von Achane was finally available, which was excellent news after learning that star Raheem Mostert would be inactive. His position was taken by fellow running backs Jeff Wilson and Jaylen Wright.
Achane finished with 96 yards on the ground and 69 yards in the air, with one touchdown. He was the best player for Miami
“I think we’re a team that feels extremely disappointed,” McDaniel said. “We put a lot of effort into this game, we had high anticipations and things did not work out. You can’t make a proper assessment when you hand the ball to the opponent and give them extra possessions, especially to a team like Buffalo.”
“It’s a defeat that really hurts, but that depends on how you respond to it.”
While the offense was lacking, Miami’s defense couldn’t contain the Bills’ ground attack, and running back James Cook destroyed them with 89 yards and three touchdowns.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen had less work to do, completing 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown but no interceptions.
Terrible game by Miami in the first half, won by Buffalo 24-10. Two quarters in which Tua looked like a rookie, the offensive line was devoid of ideas and Miami’s defense was too weak to withstand the New York steamroller.
After a fortuitous interception by Tua on a pass to wide receiver Grant DuBose, the Bills had the ball at the 38-yard line and after six plays scored their first touchdown when on fourth down (9:55′), Allen gave a short pass to running back Cook to complete the missing 17 yards. Kicker Tyler Bass’s extra point made it 7-0.
The Dolphins responded immediately with another TD (3:57′), after 10 plays when Tagovailoa delivered a short pass to Achane who gained the remaining five yards.
Jason Sanders’ point tied the score at 7-7. The first quarter ended like that, and then came Tua’s second interception on a pass to wide receiver Robbie Chosen, which culminated in Bass’ 43-yard field goal after seven plays to put Buffalo back in front 10-7.
The Bills scored again after taking possession of the ball when Cook ran in the missing yard with 6:27′ to complete his team’s second touchdown, after eight plays, and increased the score to 17-7 after Bass’ kick.
Nothing was going well for Miami in this quarter. After Tua was sacked on fourth down, Cook broke through the middle and ran 49 yards for the Bills’ third touchdown. Bass’ extra point made it a 24-7 lead.
McDaniel didn’t want to take any risks and with seven seconds left on third down, he didn’t go for the TD from the 24-yard line and preferred a field goal, which Sanders completed with his 34-yard kick. Miami went into the break down 24-10.
Nothing changed in the third quarter, in fact, it got worse when at 9:27′ Tua, trying to throw it out, gave away a pass to JaMarcus Ingram, who after catching the ball ran unopposed 31 yards to score the Bills’ fourth touchdown, which, with Bass’ point, sealed the game with a 31-10.
The Dolphins were down and needed three TDs, but with 4:24 left, Tagovailoa, on a run that earned him the first down and put his team just six yards from the end zone, collided head-on with Hamlin and had to leave the game.
With backup quarterback Skylar Thompson on the field, Miami failed to score and the third quarter ended with the same score in Buffalo’s favor: 31-10. No more play was done.
The final quarter was a mere formality and ended 0-0 after Thompson fumbled two passes just 11 yards from the end zone before the final two minutes.
The Bills sealed their second win and thus led the American Conference East Division alone.
