Bills vs. Dolphins: Score, Stats & Highlights

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Score

Bills: 3-3-3-0 – 9
Dolphins: 3-0-9-10 – 22

The Miami Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills 22-9. A very good game from Ryan Tannehill and another strong performance from their defense sends Miami to 6-4, a much needed boost in the AFC Wild Card race. Red zone troubles plagued the Bills all night; the loss sends them to 5-5. The box score is available here.

Here’s how it happened:

Both Teams Got Field Goals On Long Drives in the First Half

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The Bills and Dolphins statistically have two of the worst red zone offenses in the NFL. This inauspicious stat was in full effect in the first quarter. The Dolphins began with an impressive opening drive that took up the first 8:20 of the game and included an impressive 3rd and 24 conversion on a pass to Damien Williams. The drive stalled after that, but the Dolphins still came away with a 38 yard field goal to start the scoring. The Bills’ first drive also lasted a while (6:27) as they drove down the field. But Orton couldn’t complete the last two pass attempts, and Buffalo had to settle for a 33 yard field goal to tie the game.

The Dolphins immediately followed with another red zone opportunity, but Tannehill fumbled the ball away at the 13, his first lost fumble in 19 games. The Bills drove down the field but once again couldn’t make it to the end zone, stalling at the 3 yard line. The Bills took a 6-3 lead on the second of Dan Carpenter’s three field goals on the night, and that’s what the score would remain at the end of the half. The first half had just six drives from both teams combined – and the sixth drive was just Kyle Orton taking a knee to end the half!

The Dolphins Scored the First Touchdown of the Game Late in the Third Quarter

No touchdown was scored by either team until 2:25 left in the third quarter, when Miami finally broke through. An excellent drive from Tannehill culminated in a seven yard touchdown pass to Brandon Gibson. All in all Tannehill was 26/34 for 240 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

Orton’s Penalty Causes a Safety, But Buffalo Recovers the Kick

What seemed like a simple incomplete pass ended up being a scoring play! On 3rd and 24, Kyle Orton threw an incomplete pass that initially seemed close enough to Sammy Watkins that it would go unpenalized. However, the refs ended up throwing a flag on the play for intentional grounding, and since Orton committed the penalty in the end zone, the Dolphins ended up with two points.

The Bills kicked it away, and Dolphins returner Jarvis Landry returned it 20 yards, but fumbled the ball as he went down for the Bills’ Nickell Robey to recover, giving the Bills the ball back in Miami territory.

The Buffalo Offense Struggled Mightily All Game

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The Bills tried to click on offense after the turnover, but once again had to settle for a field goal attempt – only this one missed wide left. Throughout the entire game the Bills offense just couldn’t connect, failing to score a single touchdown. They had just 237 yards the whole game.

Landry Redeems Fumble By Scoring Touchdown

Jarvis Landry fumbled earlier to give the Bills excellent field position, but after the Bills failed to capitalize, Landry set out to redeem himself for his mistake. And redeem he did, just breaking the plane before his knee went down to score an 8 yard touchdown pass that gave the Dolphins a two score lead and sealed the win for the Dolphins.

Preview: Bills and Dolphins Look To Rebound and Make a Playoff Push

Tonight’s divisional showdown pits AFC East teams together as the Buffalo Bills are in Miami to face the Dolphins. Both teams dealt with tough losses last week; the Bills blew a 13-3 lead as they fell to the Chiefs 17-13. The Dolphins, meanwhile, gave up a go-ahead touchdown to the Lions with 29 seconds remaining as they lost to Detroit in London 20-16. Both teams are 5-4. A win for either team is crucial if they look to make a playoff run.

These teams have already faced each other once this season. In the second week of the season, the Bills easily defeated the Lions 29-10, propelled by a big game from WR Sammy Watkins, a 102 yard kickoff return from C.J. Spiller, and a defense that sacked Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill four times. Of course, a lot has changed since then, most importantly Buffalo’s quarterback – Kyle Orton was named the starter after week 4, and hasn’t relinquished his position yet.

Though each team has kept up a decent offense thanks to solid years from QBs Tannehill and Orton, this game looks to be a potential defensive struggle. Both of these teams are in the top 10 for yards allowed per game and sacks, in which the Bills defense leads the league. Opposing teams are averaging under 100 rushing yards per game against each team, and opposing quarterbacks are throwing a mere 210 yards per game against Dolphins defenders. A Bills team that leads the league in sacks vs. a Dolphins team that’s had three of the ten AFC Defensive Player of the Week awards so far this year? Look forward to a tough, hard hitting game.

Kickoff is at 8:25 pm EST with the game airing on the NFL Network, as well as CBS affiliates in Buffalo and Miami. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will be announcing with Tracy Wolfson reporting from the sidelines.

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