The Buffalo Bills showed strong performance in their recent convincing win over the Miami Dolphins, with every part of their game clicking well.
Despite playing on a short week and dealing with hot and humid weather in South Florida, the Bills were efficient, assertive, and took advantage of every opportunity in their 31-10 victory.
The game was practically decided by halftime, well before Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left with a concussion.
Quarterback Josh Allen, who was playing with a sore left hand, didn’t need to make any dramatic plays as he did in the previous week’s comeback win over Arizona.
Even with the loss of key starter, middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, due to a pectoral muscle injury, the young defense stayed strong. They took advantage of almost every mistake made by the Dolphins.
“It’s not going to be eye-popping numbers on the stat sheet,” Allen said, except for the big score. “But when you can put up those type of numbers on the scoreboard, that’s all you really care about.”
Allen didn’t need to do much, as running back James Cook scored three times in the first half, tying a franchise record.
The Bills’ defense was led by third-year player Ja’Marcus Ingram, who had two interceptions, including one returned 31 yards for a touchdown in his seventh career game. The remaining defensive veterans, Ed Oliver and Von Miller, helped keep Miami in check, with the Dolphins converting just 1 of 5 fourth-down attempts.
The Bills have recently dominated the Dolphins, now winning 12 of their last 13 meetings, including playoffs.
This year, especially in Thursday’s game, was expected to be different due to the talent the Dolphins brought back to their fast-paced offense.
After a major offseason change in Buffalo, which included letting go of six of the eight team captains and trading Stefon Diggs to Houston, there was a lot of attention on how the Bills would perform.
The Bills chose not to follow expectations and looked like a much more complete team compared to their sluggish performance in the season opener against Arizona.
“It’s encouraging and important. And it goes back to the leadership on our football team and then guys doing it by example, right?” coach Sean McDermott said, calling the game a team victory. “That’s just so important to groom those key essentials to being a good, strong, fundamentally sound football team early on.”
In the first two games, Buffalo’s revamped secondary has held Dolphins receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, as well as Cardinals rookie Marvin Harrison Jr., to a total of eight catches for 69 yards.
Von Miller, who went 14 games last season without a sack, has recorded one in each game this year.
On offense, James Cook’s impressive running performance eased the burden on Josh Allen, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards and had a 2-yard run. Allen’s combined 141 yards from scrimmage were the second fewest in a game he started and finished.
Buffalo won the game despite having just 13 first downs — the fewest in a victory since November 12, 2015, against the New York Jets — and a time of possession of only 23 minutes, 41 seconds.
“Josh is still Superman,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “But it’s a beautiful thing that we could do it without him overexerting himself.”
