The Miami Dolphins dropped to 0-3 after their 31-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. The Dolphins, who opened as 12 point underdogs, hung in the game against a Super Bowl contending Buffalo team for much longer than most expected, but ultimately succumbed to defeat after a costly penalty and interception late in the fourth quarter.
Despite the rocky start, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel still has confidence in his group moving forward.
“I know I have a locker room that is all in to grow through the process,” McDaniel said in his postgame press conference. “There’s some tough, tough lessons, tough things you have to deal with in the National Football League. To be successful in it, you have to not have things that cause you failure and be in vain. You have to have consistent growth and you have to be able to go through tough times and not splinter. The team has shown me that, and we’ll need that to get the results we want.”
Miami drew back to even early in the fourth quarter when Tua Tagovailoa threw a touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill to make the score 21-21. The Dolphins then quickly forced the Bills to punt on their next possession.
Things were looking up, until Zach Sieler was flagged for a roughing the kicker penalty on the punt, reversing the play and giving the Bills a free first down.
Those are mistakes you can’t make against Buffalo. Josh Allen subsequently led his team down the field and scored on the drive with a touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir.
Tagovailoa Throws Costly INT In Final Minutes
Despite the detrimental penalty, Tagovailoa got the ball back and began to lead his team down the field as the Dolphins looked to tie the game up late.
Miami moved the sticks for a few minutes before they found themselves down at the Buffalo 21 yard line on a first and ten. Tagovailoa looked towards his dependable receiver Jaylen Waddle for the first pass on the new set of downs, but failed to notice Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard creeping towards the play. Bernard swooped in at the perfect time and picked the ball off to all but seal the deal for Buffalo.
Y’all don’t know ball, sorry… Dolphins and Bills TEAMS played dead even… Josh Allen made the big throws, Tua threw a dumbass interception… that’s all this game came down to…
Elite QB vs ‘just good’ QB
A promising game for Miami was so quickly turned sour with two mistakes that winning teams just don’t make.
McDaniel Preaches Focus Moving Forward
Mike McDaniel has already gotten to the point where he will be coaching for his job each and every week now after a dismal start to the 2025 season. Instead of desperation, McDaniel is preaching a mindset of channelled focus for himself and his team as the Dolphins look ahead to week four.
“I would say that it’s frustration that turns to focus,” McDaniel said. “I’m very focused and motivated to continue eliminating things that cost us games. You have a young team, a lot of people that you’re counting on and you need them to not be young for much longer and continue to grow.”
Miami’s schedule lightens up in weeks four and five as they’ll take on the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. The pieces for success are there for the Dolphins, now all they need to do is eliminate the fourth quarter mistakes that have plagued them the last two weeks against Buffalo and New England.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel Shares Confident Message Despite 0-3 Start